Jordy Smith and John John Florence claim victory in Round 3 at 2012 Hurley Pro
South Africa’s Jordy Smith and Hawaii’s John John Florence successfully advanced through into the fourth round at the 2012 Hurley Pro, the latest stop on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship Tour, after claiming top honours
in their respective Round 3 heats that went down at the high-performance Lower Trestles in California, America, on Wednesday, September 19.
Smith put on an impressive performance to get the better of America’s Brett Simpson in the 11th heat, thus securing his place in the next round while removing the latter from the contention for the coveted title at the latest elite tour event.
The 12th heat saw Australia’s Yadin Nicol failing to offer a strong enough challenge for Florence, getting defeated as a result and consequently surrendering the Round 4 spot to his rival.
The elite ASP surfers were not expected to hold anything back as they took each other on in glassy four-to-six foot waves at the iconic Lower Trestles, one of the most exciting surfing spots in the world. The huge crowd in attendance expected the action
to be top-notch and what they witnessed would have definitely left them feeling satisfied.
The 11th heat saw Smith and Simpson exchange blows in a one-on-man battle for the Round 4 spot. There was plenty at stake during the heat so a lot of determined attempts to score big were seen.
Smith struggled to get a move-on during most of the heat, but stepped-up just in time to post a 6.50 on the score-board and immediately followed it up with an 8.17-point ride in the dying minutes of the heat to finish with a heat-total of 14.67 points.
Simpson responded with a 6.67 and 4.23-point wave, thus finishing with a resultant heat-total of 10.90 points. This could hardly be considered an impressive effort in the current situation and was unable to save him from elimination.
The contest for the remaining Round 4 spot took place between Florence and Nicol. The young Hawaiian powerhouse got off to a relatively modest start, but cut loose in the final minutes of the heat, earning a 6.77 and 7.67 off his best-two waves to register
a heat-total of 14.44 points.
Nicol finished with a rather dismal two-wave total of 9.90 points, which included a 5.33 and 4.57-point ride, to surrender victory and thus extend the life of his rival in the contention for the event title.
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