Hizunome Bettero and Dusty Payne triumphant in Round 1 of 2011 Nike US Open of Surfing
The eighth Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Prime event of the season, Nike US Open of Surfing, kicked off with the round of 96 (Round 1) at Huntington Beach in California, America, on Tuesday, August 2.
Brazil’s Hizunome Bettero took top honours in the first heat, while Hawaii’s Torrey Meister finished as runner-up to advance to round of 48. Australia’s Adrian Buchan and Glenn Hall rounded out the third and fourth positions, making an early exit from the
competition.
The second heat saw Hawaii’s Dusty Payne clinch the win, while Venezuelan Jonathan Gonzalez finished in second place to advance to the next round. America’s Austin Ware and Australia’s Matt Wilkinson were ousted from the event after finishing in third and
fourth position respectively.
Despite the constantly fluctuating one-to-three foot waves breaking at Huntington Beach Pier, Tuesday promised a handful of exciting heats as the elite ASP surfers competed for survival.
As the first heat kicked off, Bettero did not waste much time to collect his first business wave, earning 5.17 points off it, taking an early lead. Almost halfway through the heat, he collected an impressive 7.00-point wave to move to a heat-total of 12.17
points. The score remained unbeatable and eventually saw him off to victory.
Meister also managed to survive the first round after collecting a 4.60 and 5.70-point wave to finish with a heat-total of 10.30 points. Buchan and Hall finished with a heat-total of 9.50 and 9.20 respectively. Their bottom-two finish led to their early
exit from the ASP Prime event.
Hawaii’s Payne remained the most impressive surfer in the second heat, evidently adjusting to the conditions much better than his competition. In the opening minutes of the four-man battle, he locked a wave to open his account with 6.43 points. A few minutes
later, he caught his second business wave, collecting 6.50 off it, to reach a two-wave total of 12.93 points.
Venezuela’s Gonzalez put up a commendable fight to give Payne a tough time during the heat, but was unable to keep his Hawaiian rival from taking the win. Opening his account with a 6.33-point wave, Gonzalez failed to follow up with another decent wave and
eventually finished with a heat-total of 10.96 points. However, his effort did not go to waste as he still qualified for the second round, though just barely.
Ware finished with a heat-total of 10.86 to take third place, while Wilkinson rounded out the last place with a two-wave total of 10.70. Both the surfers were removed from contention for the event title.
For more updates on Round 1 of 2011 Nike US Open of Surfing, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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