Richard Christie and CJ Hobgood emerge triumphant in Round 1 of 2011 Nike US Open of Surfing
The latest edition of Nike US Open of Surfing continued to deliver exciting surfing action at Huntington Beach in California, America, with the fifth and sixth heat of round of 96 (Round 1) on Tuesday, August 2.
New Zealand’s Richard Christie emerged triumphant in Heat 5 to confidently make his way into the round of 48 (Round 2). Australia’s Jack Freestone extended his life in the event as well after finishing as runner-up.
America’s Damien Hobgood surprised everyone with a rather unimpressive performance to take third position and get eliminated as a result. He was joined by his compatriot, Nathaniel Curran who finished fourth.
The sixth heat saw America’s CJ Hobgood walk away with top honours, while Hawaii’s Joel Centeio finished in second place to go through to the next round. Another Hawaiian, Roy Powers, along with Australia’s Tom Whitaker rounded out the third and fourth positions
respectively, getting removed from contention as a result.
The 22-year-old Christie exhibited strong commitment and powerful surfing during the heat despite the challenging one-to-three foot waves at Huntington Beach Pier. In the opening minutes of the heat, he locked a wave to unleash a string of sensational tricks
to earn the highest single-wave score of the day; an 8.93. He soon added an additional 5.20 points to his account, finishing with a winning heat-total of 14.13.
During his post-heat interview, Christie said, “I’m just having a go and trying to get some scores and I’m stoked to get through that one. I was just trying to find a good wave and surf it the way I would usually surf it and not get too wigged out by the
crowd and it seemed to work.”
Australia’s Freestone got off to an excellent start as well, collecting an 8.50 off his very first wave of the heat. However, he ended up short of collecting victory after earning 5.40 points off his second business-wave, finishing in a 0.23-point deficit.
Hobgood was responsible for one of the biggest upsets of the day when he failed to qualify for the next round. He seemed slightly out of rhythm throughout the heat and only managed to earn a combined-total of 12.30 points despite holding a home advantage.
Curran also missed out on a Round 2 spot after getting penalised for interference during the heat to move to last position with a heat-total of 9.55 points.
In the very next heat, Damien Hobgood’s brother, CJ Hobgood, showed exceptional skills during the 30-minute heat to clinch a convincing victory. As the heat kicked off, he immediately caught a wave to collect a 7.00 to gain an early advantage. Earning another
7.67 points off a wave halfway through the heat, he finished with a heat-total of 14.67 points, which saw him through to the next round.
Hawaii’s Centeio only managed to catch three waves, but made two of them really count. He finished with a two-wave total of 12.00 to secure a place in the next round.
Powers collected a 5.57 and 4.37-point wave to finish with a heat-total of 9.94 points, while Whitaker rounded out the fourth place with a two-wave total of 8.40 points, which included a 6.17 and 2.23-point wave.
For more updates on Round 1 of 2011 Nike US Open of Surfing, stay turned to bettor.com
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