C.J. Hobgood and Michel Bourez enjoy Round 1 success at Oakley Pro Bali – Surfing news
America’s C.J. Hobgood and French Polynesia’s Michel Bourez clinched top honours in their respective Round 1 heats at the Oakley Pro Bali, the fifth of ten stops on the 2013 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship Tour, which commenced
at the main venue of Keramas in Bali, Indonesia, on Tuesday, June 18, 2013.
Hobgood earned his place in Round 3 by getting the better of Australia’s Adrian Buchan and Brazil’s Raoni Monteiro in the ninth heat, consequently pushing both his rivals into Round 2, where they were to surf again for a Round 3 spot.
The 10th heat saw Bourez hold off Australia’s Adam Melling and Brazil’s Gabriel Medina to advance straight into the third round. His rivals, on the other hand, found themselves taking a trip to Round 2 to have another shot at securing their place in Round
3.
Even though the waves on offer at Keramas were not as big as the ones that the elite tour campaigners had come across on the final-two days of Volcom Fiji Pro, they were still of a sizeable height, four-to-six feet to be more precise.
The opportunity was there for the exciting surfers from around the globe to earn big scores and strengthen their chances of heading straight into the third round without having to go through Round 2.
Hobgood found himself locking horns with Buchan and Monteiro in a three-man battle for the Round 3 spot in the ninth heat on the opening day of the competition.
The American surfer started off strongly, collecting an impressive 8.83 off his first business-wave and went on to back it up with a 7.60-point ride, thus registering a heat-total of 16.43 points.
Buchan kept Hobgood on his toes after posting an 8.00 on the score-board off his first business-wave, but an additional 7.17 points to his account and a consequent two-wave total of 15.17 points allowed the American surfer’s lead to hold up.
Monteiro put on a rather ordinary performance and only managed to get to a heat-total of 8.17 points, which included a 7.10 and 1.07-point ride.
The 10th heat saw Bourez hold his own against the likes of Melling and Medina, both of whom were perfectly capable of stealing the show on their day.
The French Polynesian surfer made some excellent wave selections and posted a couple of scores in the eight-point range to eventually register a two-wave total of 17.30 points.
Melling finished in second place with a heat-total of 14.10 points, which included an 8.60 and 5.50-point ride, whereas Medina finished third after concluding the heat on a heat-total of 12.93 points.
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