Kai Otton and CJ Hobgood surge into Round 5 of 2012 Telstra Drug Aware Pro – Surfing News
Australia’s Kai Otton and America’s CJ Hobgood powered into the fifth round (Round of 16) of the 2012 Telstra Drug Aware Pro after claiming victory in their respective Round 4 (Round of 24) heats that went down at Margaret River in Western Australia on Friday,
March 23.
Otton got the better of Puerto Rico’s Brian Toth in the seventh heat, whereas Hobgood defeated Australia’s Lincoln Taylor in the eighth heat to confirm their place in the next round of the competition.
The surfing conditions prevailing at the primary event site on Friday were nothing short of great. The clean five-to-six foot waves on offer presented the top surfers from around the world plenty of opportunities to post a big score on the scoreboard to
increase their chances of remaining alive in contention for the event title.
After stumbling in their Round 3 (no-loser Round of 24) heats, both Otton and Toth encountered each other in the seventh heat of Round 4. Neither of them could afford another loss as losing meant elimination from the event.
Determined to get a place in the next round, Otton put his local knowledge of the waves to use and found a relatively juicy wave to score a 6.83 off it. After a lengthy and desperate search, he managed to add an additional 7.30 points to his account, finishing
with a heat-total of 14.13 points.
Toth did not have much luck with the waves during the 30-minute battle. Scoring a 6.00 and 4.63 off his best-two waves, the Puerto Rican finished with a heat-total of 10.63 points. As a result, he was forced to concede victory to Otton, sending the latter
into the next round while getting eliminated himself.
The eighth heat of Round 4 featured a phenomenal performance by Hobgood as he downed Taylor to secure his place in the next round.
The American surfer went through a series of average wave-scores before posting an 8.57 on the scoreboard off his first business-wave. He later collected a near-perfect 9.03 off his second business-wave to take his heat-total to a decisive heat-total of
17.60 points.
Taylor failed to respond strongly and eventually finished with a heat-total of 12.84 points, which comprised of a 7.17 and 5.67-point wave. He was consequently removed from the contention for the event title.
Tags: