Joel Parkinson captures the win in Round 1 of Hurley Pro – 2011 ASP World Tour
Australia’s Joel Parkinson got off to a perfect start with a victory in the first heat of the opening round of Hurley Pro, which is the seventh stop of the 2011 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour, that took place at Lower Trestles in California,
on Sunday, September 18.
The 30-year-old Australian clinched top honours by defeating South Africa’s Travis Logie and Brazil’s Jadson Andre, consequently advancing directly to Round 3. Logie and Andre got relegated to Round 2 after finishing in second and third place respectively.
With the best surfers from around the globe converging to the iconic point-break of Lower Trestles to continue their campaign for the coveted ASP World Title, the fans expected nothing short of a thrilling showdown. Living up to the expectations, the competition
opened up with a real intense Round 1 battle between three exceptional talents of surfing, namely Parkinson, Logie and Andre.
Parkinson, current No.3 on the ASP World Title Rankings, continued to exhibit a form that has made him one of the most prominent surfers this year. In the early stages of the heat, he opened his account with a 7.33-point wave. After a long and patient hunt,
he earned 4.63 points off a wave to finish with a heat-total of 11.96 points. The score remained unbeatable till the end and eventually carried him off to victory.
Logie put up a remarkable fight during the 30-minute heat to get his hands on the win, though the effort turned out to be futile. He scored 5.50 points off his first business-wave and only required another 6.47 points to take the win. However, he only managed
to add an additional 6.03 points to his account despite a determined search and was forced to concede victory to Parkinson after finishing in a 0.43-point deficit.
Andre did not look too shabby during the opening heat of Round 1 either. He got off to a decent start, scoring 5.83-points off the first wave. A few minutes later, he added another 5.17 points to his account, moving to a heat-total of 11.00 points. However,
he failed to improve his score and had to settle for a third place finish.
Despite missing out on victory, all is not lost for Logie and Andre as they still remain in contention at the current stop of the elite tour. However, they now need to survive the sudden-death Round 2 in order to earn their place in the third round.
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