The scene at Lowers. Look for the 21-year-old Owen Wright to continue turning heads as he arrives to Lowers a definite favorite after back-to-back finals and a victory in New York. Photo: Hourihan.
We are through the first half of the 2011 ASP World Tour season as the world’s best surfers arrive in Southern California for stop no. 7 of 11 on tour, the Hurley Pro.
Lower Trestles, the site of the Hurley Pro, is considered one of the most high-performance breaks on tour. And despite the less-than-optimistic looking forecast, Lowers is sure to provide the world’s best surfers with a venue for high-performance, similar to what we saw earlier this month at the Quiksilver Pro in New York.
We saw a lot of Kelly Slater in New York.
After beating Owen Wright to win the Billabong Pro – which turned out to be one of the most epic contests ever, held in Tahiti just last month – the 39-year-old 10x World Champ went on to earn another spot in an elite tour finals, again facing Wright, in punchy beach break on the East Coast with action similar to what fans can expect this week in Trestles.
Look for the overall points leader to continue his World Tour domination, traveling back to Southern California as the reigning champ of last year’s Hurley Pro as well as this year’s Nike U.S. Open of Surfing.
But, also look for the 21-year-old Owen Wright to continue turning heads as he arrives to Lowers a definite favorite after back-to-back finals and a victory in New York. He’s come on strong with 5 events to go and will look to face Kelly in yet another final; which, according to seeding, the two are on opposite sides of the draw, meaning a third finals pairing in a row is a possibility.
Of course, there are others on tour. Some notables who are currently ranked in the top ten to watch for are Joel, Mick and Taj. These guys know performance. Also watch for Josh Kerr, ranked no. 6 in the world. Kerr humbled Slater in the fourth-round in New York and is capable of dropping back-to-back heavy scores at a moment’s notice.
Dane is out; he hasn’t surfed an event all year. Jordy Smith and Dusty Payne both suffered injuries at Teahupoo: Jordy’s out, Dusty’s in.
And after the mid-season cut, fans will no longer see veteran CJ Hobgood or black sheep Bobby Martinez on tour. East Coaster Gabe Kling was also cut. But, Brazilians Miguel Pupo and Gabriel Medina will join the fold. As will John John Florence; who, due to injury, was offered a spot from Yadin Nicol.
To kick off the contest, a wildcard heat to determine the final two entrants to the contest will run first thing in the morning. The trials final is tentatively scheduled for 8:00 AM tomorrow, according to the Hurley Pro official Twitter account.
The four-man wildcard heat features the finalists from this year’s Nike U.S. Open trials (which includes three Hurley team riders): Rob Machado, Connor Coffin, Mitch Crews, and Nate Yeomans. The first wildcard slot goes to the trials winner, while the second goes to the highest placing Hurley team rider in the trials.
The trials final heat will be immediately followed by Round 1 Heat 1 of the main event. The waiting period for the contest runs from September 18-24.
Forecast
According to Surfline‘s official forecast from Friday, September 16, 2011, there are no major swells appearing for the contest waiting period, “but a series of small south-southwest and south swells will show best from the Sunday through Thursday time frame.”
HURLEY PRO AT TRESTLES ROUND 1 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Joel Parkinson (oz), Jadson Andre (brazil), Travis Logie (so. africa)
Heat 2: Jeremy Flores (france), Heitor Alves (brazil), John John Florence (hi)
Heat 3: Taj Burrow (oz), Chris Davidson (oz), Adam Melling (oz)
Heat 4: Owen Wright (oz), Patrick Guadaskas (usa), wildcard
Heat 5: Kelly Slater (usa), Fredrick Pattachia (hi), wildcard*
Heat 6: Adrian Buchan (oz), Matt Wilkinson (oz), Tiago Pires (portugal)
Heat 7: Bede Durbidge (oz), Raoni Monteiro (brazil), Taylor Knox (usa)
Heat 8: Michel Bourez (french polynesia), Kieren Perrow (oz), Kai Otton (oz)
Heat 9: Adriano de Souza (brazil), Gabriel Medina (brazil), Dusty Payne (hi)
Heat 10: Julian Wilson (oz), Alejo Muniz (brazil), Miguel Pupo (brazil)
Heat 11: Damien Hobgood (usa), Josh Kerr (oz), Daniel Ross (oz)
Heat 12: Mick Fanning (oz), Brett Simpson (usa), Tom Whitaker (oz)
