Bede Durbidge and Mick Fanning off to a great start at 2012 Hurley Pro
Australia’s Bede Durbidge and his fellow countryperson Mick Fanning made their way straight into the third round at the 2012 Hurley Pro, latest stop on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship Tour, after claiming top honours
in their respective Round 1 heats that went down at Lower Trestles in San Clemente, California, on Sunday, September 16.
While Durbidge taking the win in the fifth heat, his compatriot Joel Parkinson had to settle for second position while America’s Evan Geiselman finished third. Both the surfers were relegated to the second round as a result.
The sixth heat saw Fanning claim the win to secure his place in the third round, whereas Hawaii’s Fredrick Patacchia and America’s Conner Coffin rounded out the second and third place respectively, which resulted in pushing them into the second round to
surf again for the Round 3 spot.
With the best surfing talent from around the globe in contention for top honours at the high-performance beach-break of Lower Trestles, the stage was set for a series of enthralling and intense battles.
Durbidge found himself pitted against the current No.2 on the ASP World Championship Tour rankings Parkinson as well as Geiselman in a three-man battle during the fifth heat.
As the battle got underway, Durbidge got off to a good start, squeezing a 6.33 off his first business-wave and went on to back it up with an impressive 7.83 off his second business-wave, thus finishing with a decisive heat-total of 14.16 points.
Parkinson failed to impressive on the opening day of the latest ASP World Tour event, getting relegated to the second round after finishing second with a heat-total of 12.87 points, which comprised of a couple of scores in the six-point range.
Geiselman scored a 4.67 and 7.83 off his best-two waves to finish with a heat-total of 12.50 points, which put him in third place.
The sixth heat saw former two-time ASP World Champion Fanning, current No.1 on the ASP World Championship Tour rankings, put on an outstanding performance to get the better of Patacchia and Coffin.
The Australian surfer got his hands on a 7.50-point ride in the opening minutes of the heat and later added an additional 8.10 points to his account, thus finishing with a heat-total of 15.60 points.
Patacchia scored a 6.93 and 7.67 off his best-two waves to finish with a resultant heat-total of 14.60 points, which placed him second and therefore sent him into the relegation round.
Coffin was also forced to surf again for a place in the third round after finishing third with a two-wave total of 12.16 points, which included a 5.73 and 6.43-point ride.
Tags: