Adrian Buchan and Joel Parkinson advance to Round 4 of Hurley Pro – 2011 ASP World Tour
The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour action continued with the ninth and tenth heat of Hurley’s Pro Round 3 on Tuesday, September 20, at the Lower Trestles, California, as Adrian Buchan and Joel Parkinson moved to the next reound of
the event.
Australia’s Adrian Buchan downed his compatriot, Chris Davidson, in the ninth heat to secure his place in the fourth round, removing the latter from contention for the event title in the process.
The tenth heat saw Australia’s Joel Parkinson win a real intense battle against America’s Brett Simpson, consequently advancing to Round 4 while bringing the competition to a premature end for his opponent.
The surfing conditions did not turn out to be ideal on the third day of Hurley Pro, but there was some consolation to the surfers as the quality of the waves was much better than the ones the Round 2 field had to surf in a day earlier.
With the daunting task of adjusting to the prevailing conditions and holding their nerves, the 28-year-old Buchan and his countryman, Davidson, took each other on in the ninth heat. As the 30-minute battle kicked off, Davidson drew first blood by locking
a wave in the opening minutes to score 6.00 points off it. However, he was soon stripped of the lead by Buchan, who earned 7.67 points off his first business-wave.
Buchan added another 8.13 points to his account in the final minutes of the Round 3 bout to reach a heat-total of 15.80 point, presenting his rival with an extremely challenging task of scoring 9.81 off his second-business wave to grab victory. Davidson
completely succumbed to the pressure and only managed to add an additional 4.40 points to his score to finish with a heat-total of 10.40 points, consequently allowing his rival to walk away with a comfortable victory.
The tenth heat pitted an in-form Parkinson, current No.3 on ASP World Title Rankings, against Simpson, who was looking to be in great rhythm as well over the past few days. The face-off between the two surfers was expected to be an electrifying affair and
the tenth heat surely lived up to this expectation.
As the battle got underway, the 30-year-old Parkinson charged at a set of waves to unload a combination of exquisite manoeuvres, earning 8.67 points for the effort. Simpson immediately responded with an even more impressive wave to take the lead with 9.13
points.
The two surfers continued to hunt for another good score as the heat-clock ticked away. Almost halfway through the heat, the Australian caught a wave to score 8.33 points off it, moving to a heat-total of 17.00 points. Simpson needed a 7.88 off his second
business-wave to take the win, but only managed to earn 7.67, consequently finishing with a two-wave total of 16.80 points and conceding victory to his rival.
For more updates on Round 3 of Hurley Pro, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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