Damien Hobgood prevails in Round 1 of Quiksilver Pro France – 2011 ASP World Tour
Keeping the thrilling action going at the iconic beach-break of La Graviere in France on Wednesday, October 5, Quiksilver Pro France continued with the 12th heat of Round 1, putting America’s Damien Hobgood against his compatriot Patrick Gudauskas
and Australia’s Josh Kerr in a battle for the Round 3 spot.
The heat turned out to be completely one-sided, with Hobgood getting his hands on victory without facing any serious threat from his rivals and consequently advancing directly into the third round. Gudauskas took the runner-up spot, while the formidable
Kerr rounded out the third position. The disappointing performances by the two surfers led to their relegation into the second round.
The surfing conditions at the primary event site had turned out to be quite demanding, offering shifty six-to-seven foot waves to the surfers. The nature of the waves made them extremely difficult to ride, keeping the surfers at bay during their hunt for
a good score. Even though there was not much pressure during the first round as a loss meant relegation to Round 2 instead of elimination, the motivation to secure a Round 3 spot drove the competitors to put in a determined fight during the 30-minute heat.
As the 12th heat got underway, the 32-year-old Hobgood got off to a slow start, taking his time to adjust to the demanding conditions. After collecting a series of mediocre scores, the American went on to lock a relatively juicy wave, pulling
out a stylish manoeuvre from his arsenal to earn 6.73 points for the effort. He added an additional 5.17 points to his account a few minutes later to get to a heat-total of 11.90 points. The score held him in the lead until the very end and eventually earned
him top honours, consequently confirming his place in the third round.
Gudauskas had quite a miserable time out in the middle as he struggled to get his hands on a good score. He made his lack of form evident quite early in the heat, managing to score a mere 1.33 off his first business-wave. Despite a lengthy and determined
search, he was only able to add another 4.60 points to his account, climbing to an inadequate heat-total of 5.93 points.
Australia’s formidable force, Kerr, became responsible for creating the biggest upset of the day through his disappointing performance on the opening day of the latest elite tour event. After getting himself recognised as one of the strongest contenders
for the ASP World Title, the Australian got off to an extremely substandard start at Quiksilver Pro France.
Kerr was expected to walk away victory during the 12th heat of Round 1, but it turned out to be on the contrary. He only managed to collect a 2.43 and 1.90 off his top-two waves, finishing with a heat-total of 4.33 points and rounding out the
third position as a result.
All was not lost for Gudauskas and Kerr despite a disappointing start to the competition, as they still had an opportunity to get back in the race for the event-title through a successful Round 2 heat.
For updates on Round 2 of Quiksilver Pro France, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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