Adrian Buchan and Miguel Pupo clinch success in opening round of Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast
Australia’s Adrian Buchan and Brazil’s Miguel Pupo won the seventh and eighth heat in the opening round of Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast, the first stop of 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship Tour, which went down at Snapper Rocks
in Queensland, Australia, on Saturday, February 25.
Australia’s Julian Wilson and South Africa’s Travis Logie got relegated to the second round after finishing behind Buchan in second and third place, while the heat winner advanced through into the third round.
Pupo secured his place in the third round as well, while South Africa’s Jordy Smith and America’s Patrick Gudauskas were forced to take a trip to the relegation round after rounding out the second and third place respectively.
As the seventh heat got underway in shifty three-to-four foot waves, Buchan wasted no time in asserting his dominance in the battle and caught a juicy right-hander to post an 8.17 on the score-board. Adding an additional 7.87 points to his account, he finished
with a heat-total of 16.04 points. The score remained unbeatable until the end to seal the battle in his favour.
Wilson, 2011 ASP World Tour Rookie of the Year, failed to deliver in his first of the event, scoring a 5.33 and 6.50 off his best-two waves to finish in second place with a heat-total of 11.83 points.
Logie did not have much luck with the waves either and only managed to collect a 5.00 and 3.67 off his top-two waves to finish last with a two-wave total of 8.67 points.
The eighth heat featured an intense battle for a place in the third round. All three surfers put on a determined performance, but it was the young Brazilian force Pupo who managed to eventually walk away with the win.
Locking his first wave, Pupo posted a 6.43 on the score-board and managed to add an additional 5.57 to his account to take an excellent come-from-behind victory with a heat-total of 12.00 points.
Smith, one of biggest stand outs during the previous season of ASP World Tour, finished mere 0.04 points behind the heat winner after scoring a 6.33 and 5.63 off his best-two waves.
Gudauskas finished in third place after scoring a 6.00 off his first business-wave and backing it up with a 5.00-point wave to finish with a heat-total of 11.60 points.
The surfing action continued with the remaining heats of Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast’s Round 1 at Snapper Rocks on Saturday.
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