CJ Hobgood off to an ideal start in opening round of Volcom Fiji Pro – Surfing News
America’s CJ Hobgood confirmed his place in the third round of Volcom Fiji Pro, the fourth of ten stops on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour, after walking away with top honours from the second heat of Round 2 at the main site
of Cloudbreak in Tavarua, Fiji, on Sunday, June 3.
America’s Patrick Gudauskas finished in second place, while Australia’s Josh Kerr had to settle for a third-place finish. The failure to finish on top resulted in the relegation of both the surfers into the second round, where they were to surf again for
a place in the third round.
The ASP Top 34 arrived at Tavarua to resume their campaign for the coveted ASP World Title. The action was expected to be as gripping as ever and the sort of conditions prevailing at the main venue promised to serve as an ideal stage for the elite surfers
to treat the huge crowd in attendance to a series of captivating performances.
The second heat of Round 1 pitted Hobgood against Gudauskas and Kerr in a three-man battle for the Round 3 spot. All three surfers had been exhibiting a promising form since the start of the season and were expected to put on an entertaining show for the
crowd during the clash in six-to-eight foot waves that were on offer at the open ocean reef pass.
As the battle got underway, Hobgood got off to an excellent start, scoring a juicy left-hander in the opening minutes of the wave to unleash a series of exquisite turns and consequently earning a 7.33 on the effort. Going through a series of ordinary scores,
he managed to add an additional 5.00 points on the scoreboard, thus moving to a heat-total of 12.33 points. The score kept him well ahead of his rivals until the end of the battle to eventually earn him a comprehensive victory, consequently taking him through
into the third round.
Gudauskas scored a 3.83 and 5.03 off his best-two waves for a heat-total of 8.86 points, while Kerr finished third with a heat-total of 6.10 points. Both the surfers did not look too confident during the course of the battle and thus ended up putting dismissal
performances, which consequently sent them into the relegation round to surf again for the Round 3 spot.
Tags: