Nat Young and Dege O’Connell prevail in Round 2 at Reef Hawaiian Pro
America’s Nat Young and Hawaii’s Dege O’Connell emerged triumphant in their respective Round 2 (Round of 96) heats at the Reef Hawaiian Pro, part of the 30th anniversary Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, which resumed at the North Shore of Oahu in
Hawaii on Friday, November 16, 2012.
Young advanced to Round 3 (Round of 64) following his Round 2 win, while Hawaii’s Tanner Hendrickson accompanied him after clinching second-place spot. Australia’s Stu Kennedy and Hawaii’s Jamie O’Brien finished in third and fourth place respectively, which
led to their premature elimination from the competition.
The fourth heat saw O’Connell claim the win, while French Polynesia’s Alain Riou secured second place. Both the surfers made it through into the third round as a result. Australia’s Jack Freestone finished in third place, while France’s Joan Duru had to
settle for the bottom position.
The prize purse of $250,000 served as a strong motivational factor for the surfers from 15 countries to push hard during their four-man battles for top honours.
Pitted against Hendrickson, Kennedy and O’Brien, Young had his work cut out for him. The young Californian surfer, however, responded to the demanding stage with a confident performance.
Scoring a 7.67 off his first business-wave and adding an additional 6.33 points to his account later in the heat, Young registered a heat-total of 14.00 points, which allowed him to grab a convincing victory.
Hendrickson finished in second place with a heat-total of 8.37 points, which comprised of a 4.87 and 3.50-point ride.
Kennedy finished in third place after concluding the heat at a heat-total of 8.26 points, whereas the bottom position was filled by O’Brien after he failed to do any better than a two-wave total of 7.23 points.
The fourth heat saw O’Connell walk away with the win after registering a heat-total of 13.53 points, which included a 7.53 and 6.00-point ride. The score remained unbeatable until the end, thus earning him the win.
Riou also managed to make it through into the next round after securing runner-up place with a heat-total of 10.10 points, which included a 6.50 and 3.60-point ride.
Freestone and Duru were unable to go through into the next round after finishing with a heat-total of 8.60 and 7.40 points respectively.
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