Tanner Gudauskas and John John Florence shine on day 3 of the ASP PRIME Nike Lowers Pro
America’s Tanner Gudauskas and Hawaii’s John John Florence walked away with a successful result from their respective Round 5 (no-loser Round of 24) heats at Nike Lowers Pro, an Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) PRIME event, which continued at Lower Trestles in San Clemente, California, on Thursday, May 3.
Both Gudauskas and Florence advanced through into the seventh round (Round of 16) following their victory in Round 5. America’s Gabe Kling and his compatriots Cory Lopez, Taylor Knox and CJ Hobgood got relegated to the sixth round (Round of 24).
The surfing conditions prevailing at the renowned point-break of Lower Trestles turned out to be quite excellent on day of the latest ASP PRIME event. The fans were once again convinced that they would be witnessing a series of adrenaline-pumping action and intense battles as the surfers’ pursuit for the prestigious event title and other available rewards heated up.
Squaring off with fellow Americans Kling and Taylor Knox in the third heat, Gudauskas sure had his work cut out for him.
Rising to meet the challenge head on, Gudauskas put on a determined hunt for a potential scoring opportunity, something that took him quite an effort to come across. Locking his first business-wave, the American surfer collected an 8.67 for the effort. In the dying minutes of the heat, he caught another juicy wave to unload a flurry of powerful carves to add an additional 9.20 points to his account, thus finishing with a decisive heat-total of 17.87 points.
Kling was truly spectacular in the three-man bout as well, earning an 8.10 and 7.40 off his best-two waves to secure runner-up position with a heat-total of 15.50 points.
The immensely-experienced Knox found himself getting relegated to the sixth round after finishing in third place with a heat-total of 12.23 points.
The fourth heat featured an intense battle between Florence and Lopez, with both the surfers showing off their huge array of skills in the famed Lower Trestles waves.
The Hawaiian surfer eventually took the win with his heat-total of 16.23 points, while Lopez was forced to settle for runner-up place with a two-wave total of 15.67 points.
Hobgood collected a couple of points in the six-point range to finish with a heat-total of 13.06 points, consequently moving into the relegation round.
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