Hurley Pro at Trestles
Event No. 7 of 10 on the ASP World Championship Tour
Lower Trestles, San Clemente, California
September 15 through 21, 2013

World’s Best Prepare for High-Performance Showdown at Hurley Pro at Trestles

Pictured: Jordy Smith (ZAF), 25, current ASP WCT No. 4, will be one to watch at the upcoming Hurley Pro at Trestles.

Credit: ASP/ROWLAND

LOWER TRESTLES, California/USA (Monday, September 8, 2013) – The world’s best surfers are converging on the high-performance mecca of Lower Trestles this week for the upcoming Hurley Pro at Trestles, running from September 15 – 21, 2013.

Event No. 7 of 10 on the 2013 ASP World Championship Tour (WCT), the Hurley Pro at Trestles is an annual highlight on the ASP Dream Tour with the cobblestone lefts and rights of Lower Trestles providing the ideal canvas for barrier-breaking performances from the world’s best surfers.

Joel Parkinson (AUS), 32, reigning ASP World Champion and current ASP WCT No. 3, has had a solid 2013, posting a win in Bali and a Runner-Up at home on the Gold Coast. However, with four events remaining this season, Parkinson will need to claim some major results throughout the California and European legs if he is to defend his maiden title.“I’ve just got to channel what was working for me last season,” Parkinson said. “I had a great run though California and Europe last year and I’ve just got to recapture that consistency again. Looking at the ratings, I’ll probably need to win one of the next three events, if not two, if I’m going to be a chance to put myself in the world title mix again. However, I’ve felt great about my surfing this year.

The Gold Coast natural-footer is a perennial standout at the Southern California venue, collecting a win in 2004, but acknowledged that the elite field this year is stacked with talent.

“I love Trestles,” Parkinson said. “It’s such a high performance wave and I think everyone acknowledges that, but it’s also a great ‘flow’ wave. It’s a great wave to flow your turns together and choreograph a wave and make it look great from beginning to end. Trestles – when it’s on – is the kind of wave where everyone looks good. In terms of results, Kelly (Slater) and Mick (Fanning) are always good there, Taj (Burrow) and Jordy (Smith) will be in the mix, and I reckon Gabe (Medina) and Julian (Wilson) are big chances as well.”

Jordy Smith (ZAF), 25, current ASP WCT No. 4, has been in sensational form in 2013, claiming a win in Rio as well as a Semifinals appearance at Bells Beach. While the South African has been considered a threat to the ASP World Title since his elite tour inception in 2008, Smith has yet to claim the long sought after crown.

“I still think the title is a possibility, but I understand I need to post a win in the next couple of events,” Smith said. “I feel like I’m slip streaming the breakaway pack at the moment ready to strike. I’ve had a great preparation for Lowers so far. I’m living in Carlsbad at the moment and have been surfing Trestles every day there has been waves.”

At 6’3″ and 190 lbs, Smith cuts one of the more imposing figures amongst the elite ASP Top 34, and his size, power, speed and versatility will serve him well in the high-performance walls of Lower Trestles.

“I love Lowers,” Smith said. “I think the slopey wave suits my rail game and I have been fine-tuning my CI equipment out there for two years now. Last year still haunts me – if i’d just finished either of my top two waves, I would have been into the Semifinals and possibly further. That’s definitely in the back of my mind and driving me this year. I’ve put in my time at Lowers and when it lines up, the rights are a pretty perfect canvas to tick off everything in your repertoire. I love to use my size and hack the open walls then make the most of the end actions with a punt.”

Adrian Buchan (AUS), 30, current ASP WCT No. 10, is fresh off an emotional win in Tahiti over 11-time ASP World Champion and current ASP WCT No. 1 Kelly Slater (USA), 41. While the victory was billed as a “shock” in the media, Buchan’s win at the treacherous South Pacific reef pass came as little surprise to his peers on tour.

“I think anytime there’s someone outside that established status quo of big multiple event winners there is an element of surprise and a bit more emotion in the victory,” Buchan said. “That’s probably a nod to just how good those guys are. I think this era is really going to go down as the strongest ever and deepest as far as talent goes.”

In addition to his ability in heavy barrels, Buchan’s lightning-fast rail game and powerful approach serve him well in high-performance walls like Lower Trestles.

“Lowers was actually where my professional career really kicked off,” Buchan said. “I got a second there to kick off my qualification run in 2005 and I’ve had some really strong results over the years (3rd at the NIke last year) and a bunch of 9ths and a Quarterfinal loss to Kelly last year where I really felt strong but made some wave selection errors. In terms of my strengths I think Lowers is up there with my stronger events. Its a perfect wave but its also a very technical one and that suits me. You need to read the wave well and play the game and I like playing the game.”

Glenn Hall (IRL), 31, has withdrawn from the event due to his ongoing back injury sustained in June in Fiji. Hall will be replaced by San Clemente standout Patrick Gudauskas (USA), 27. There have been no other formal withdrawals as of yet – any further withdrawals could potentially alter the Round 1 match-ups.

When competition commences, up first will be Nat Young (USA), 22, up against Fredrick Patacchia (HAW), 31, and Dusty Payne (HAW), 24, in the opening heat of Round 1.

The Hurley Pro at Trestles will run from September 15 – 21, 2013 and will be webcast LIVE via http://www.thehurleypro.com/

For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com

HURLEY PRO AT TRESTLES ROUND 1 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Nat Young (AUS), Fredrick Patacchia (HAW), Dusty Payne (HAW)
Heat 2: Taj Burrow (AUS), Bede Durbidge (AUS), Tiago Pires (PRT)
Heat 3: Jordy Smith (ZAF), Matt Wilkinson (AUS), Patrick Gudauskas (USA)
Heat 4: Joel Parkinson (AUS), Travis Logie (ZAF), Owen Wright (AUS)
Heat 5: Mick Fanning (AUS), Kolohe Andino (USA), Mitch Crews (AUS)
Heat 6: Kelly Slater (USA), Brett Simpson (USA), Dane Reynolds (USA)
Heat 7: Josh Kerr (AUS), Gabriel Medina (USA), Kieren Perrow (AUS)
Heat 8: Adriano de Souza (BRA), Filipe Toledo (BRA), Alejo Muniz (BRA)
Heat 9: C.J. Hobgood (USA), Sebastian Zietz (HAW), Raoni Monteiro (BRA)
Heat 10: Adrian Buchan (AUS), Jeremy Flores (FRA), Adam Melling (AUS)
Heat 11: Julian Wilson (AUS), John John Florence (HAW), Miguel Pupo (BRA)
Heat 12: Michel Bourez (PYF), Kai Otton (AUS), Damien Hobgood (USA)
* Draw subject to change pending withdrawals.

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Hurley Pro at Trestles
Event No. 7 of 10 on the 2013 ASP World Championships Tour (WCT)
Lower Trestles, California USA
September 15 – 21, 2013

Taj Burrow Wins Hurley Pro at Trestles, Mick Fanning Takes ASP WCT Rankings Lead
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Pictured: Taj Burrow (AUS), 35, winner of the Hurley Pro at Trestles.

Credit: ASP/SCHOLTZ

LOWER TRESTLES, San Clemente, CA (Wednesday, September 18, 2013) – Taj Burrow (AUS), 35, has won the Hurley Pro at Trestles in a hard-fought Final over fellow Australian Julian Wilson (AUS), 24, in two-to-four foot (1 metre) waves at Lower Trestles.
Stop No. 7 of 10 on the ASP World Championship Tour (WCT), the Hurley Pro at Trestles victory marks Burrow’s first ASP WCT win this season and 12th of his career.

Burrow’s win would come at the hands of an action packed match up, with the two Australians delivering a series of exciting exchanges in the high-scoring final. While Wilson would put together multiple combinations on the Lowers rights, Burrow’s high-scores were found via both a powerful backhand attack on a wedging left and a lengthy righthand runner.

“I couldn’t be happier,” Burrow said. “I really put so much effort in to this event and it just feels so incredible when it unfolds and goes your way. I felt like the good waves came my way and I was just in the zone. I was hoping to get things snowballing and I never felt like I put together my best surfing. I was just finding my feet more and more each heat. My board kept getting better and better and it felt great towards the end. That’s how you want to win an event, peak at the right time. I knew Julian (Wilson) would be tough. Even if I saw a wedged out close out I would have taken it if I had priority because I know what he can do. I surfed as smart as I possibly could. I thought I made a couple of errors, but they ended up playing out.”

Burrow’s win at the Hurley Pro at Trestles marks his third career Final at the venue and the progressive natural-footer was elated to take out a win after two career runner-up finishes at Lowers.

“It feels so good to tick this one off the list, I really wanted it more than any,” Burrow said. “I’ve had two second places and one really close one with Kelly (Slater) that I lost in the last minute. That one tore me up for a long time. I just couldn’t be happier that I got it.”

Burrow’s Hurley Pro at Trestles victory puts him at No. 4 on the ASP WCT.

Julian Wilson was electric throughout the entirety of the Hurley Pro at Trestles, launching massive aerials and fully-committed turns on both the lefts and rights of Lowers while posting some of the highest scores of competition. Wilson would get off to an early lead in the Hurley Pro at Trestles Final, but was unable to put a stop to Burrow’s efforts, finishing runner-up overall.

“It’s a great result and I would have rather gone one better,” Wilson said. “It was pretty tricky out there and I made too many mistakes and wasn’t in rhythm. Strategy was really important, but also, I want to go big and I wasn’t looking for the perfect wave. I thought I could do something big on something that wasn’t that perfect. Overall, it’s a good result and I had a good day. I want to keep moving up and win the next one.”

Wilson’s runner-up finish moves him to No. 7 on the ASP WCT.

Jordy Smith (ZAF), 25, was a standout at the Hurley Pro at Trestles, consistently posting high scores while advancing to the Semifinals. The powerful South African was unable to put a stop to a rampaging Taj Burrow in the Semifinals, however, finishing equal 3rd overall.

“TB (Taj Burrow) got that first one and that set him up for the rest of the heat,” Smith said. “I felt like I didn’t have to do much to get the big scores. All I needed was an opportunity, but I surfed my best and maybe over-surfed some waves. I did the best I could and I’m happy with my performance. It would have been nice to make the Final, but all around it was a good contest and I’m really frothing for France.”

Michel Bourez (PYF), 27, was lethal on the lefts and rights of Lower Trestles, unloading his signature power game en route to the Semifinals. The Tahitian would earn the day’s high heat total of 17.90 in the Quarterfinals, but was unable to find a rhythm in his Semifinals clash against Julian Wilson despite a valiant effort and would finish equal 3rd.

“It was really small and hard for me to pick the right waves and I was going too slow,” Bourez said. “With the tide changing, it was hard to figure out because it changed so much after my Quarterfinal. Julian (Wilson) played a really good game. He started strong and kept waiting for the best ones. That was the only thing to do I think.”

With 11-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater (USA), 41, finishing equal 13th at the Hurley Pro at Trestles, two-time ASP World Champion Mick Fanning (AUS), 32, has taken over poll position on the 2013 ASP World Title Race via his 9th place finish. While Fanning’s Round 5 exit marks his poorest result of 2013, he’s looking to reset for a strong finish entering the final leg of the ASP WCT season.

“I came up a bit short in my heat yesterday and then I just made one mistake at the start of the heat and Travis (Logie) got that 8 and there wasn’t anything to fight back,” Fanning said. “Sometimes that happens. For me, to be bettering results, I had to get a 3rd and it was still a lot of work to do, but it would have been good to get more of a lead. This is my first throwaway for the year and it might be a good time to reset and refocus moving in to these last few events. Going in to these last three events, you want to win events and I’m just going to throw everything at it.”

For highlights of the Hurley Pro at Trestles log on to www.thehurleypro.com.

The next stop on the 2013 ASP WCT will be the Quiksilver Pro France, which holds a waiting period from September 26 through October 6, 2013.

For additional ASP information log on to www.aspworldtour.com.

HURLEY PRO AT TRESTLES FINAL RESULT:
1 – Taj Burrow (AUS) 17.07
2 – Julian Wilson (AUS) 15.97

HURLEY PRO AT TRESTLES SEMIFINALS RESULTS:
SF 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) 15.83 def. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 11.10
SF 2: Julian Wilson (AUS) 17.40 def. Michel Bourez (PYF) 12.43

HURLEY PRO AT TRESTLES QUARTERFINALS RESULTS:
QF 1: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.67 def. Kai Otton (AUS) 12.33
QF 2: Taj Burrow (AUS) 15.93 def. Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 13.70
QF 3: Michel Bourez (PYF) 17.90 def. Travis Logie (ZAF) 14.00
QF 4: Julian Wilson (AUS) 15.64 def. Josh Kerr (AUS) 13.04

HURLEY PRO AT TRESTLES ROUND 5 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Kai Otton (AUS) 11.50 def. C.J. Hobgood (USA) 8.83
Heat 2: Taj Burrow (AUS) 15.60 def. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 14.47
Heat 3: Travis Logie (ZAF) 13.23 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) 11.74
Heat 4: Josh Kerr (AUS) 14.10 def. Adam Melling (AUS) 12.93

CURRENT ASP WCT TOP 10:
1 – Mick Fanning (AUS) 41,900 points
2 – Kelly Slater (USA) 40,700 points
3 – Jordy Smith (ZAF) 35,700 points
4 – Taj Burrow (AUS) 35,400 points
5 – Joel Parkinson (AUS) 32,450 points
6 – Josh Kerr (AUS) 29,600 points
7 – Julian Wilson (AUS) 28,850 points
8 – Adriano de Souza (BRA) 27,500 points
9 – C.J. Hobgood (USA) 27,200 points
10 – Michel Bourez (PYF) 26,500 points
10 – Nat Young (USA) 26,500 points