Jordy Smith Wins The Hurley Pro At Trestles

The day started clean, with lully, chest high sets and the question sparked by the morning’s coffee was, who’s going to beat Filipe Toledo? In conditions like today, the event was his to lose.

The Semifinals kicked off with the two San Clemente transplants, Mr Toledo and Jordy Smith. In the smaller conditions, Filipe had the advantage based purely on body type. In the first few minutes, Filly found a ramp and pumped a full rotation to the flats, he was scored an 8.33 and according to Barton Lynch’s always enthusiastic commentary, “He set the tone for the day!” Filipe then paddled back out and snagged a quick left, with quicker backhand whips for a six point ride. Jordy, riding a buoyant Channel Islands Epoxy responded with three hard pocket carves; the judges threw him an eight. Jordy stuck to his rail, stayed patient, held priority, found a set and applied that backfoot pressure. Three big cuts and a speed float later, Jordy had his second excellent score, a 9.23. With that, the question of the morning was answered.  “I made a couple of mistakes in that heat,” said Filly. “I’m happy with the third, but I would be happier if I was in the finals [laughs].” 

Filipe’s got a PhD in high scoring single maneuvers.

“I know I’m not going to our air Filipe, he’s one of the best in the world,” said Jordy. “I figured I’d just stick to my guns and wait for the best waves.”

Local wildcard, Tanner Gudang matched up with Joel Parko for the next semifinal heat. Tanner stayed busy, going to that hammer foot backhand the judges have dining on. He found a mid-sized right and carved it into a 7.5. Joel turned on the largest face of the set, flowed it with ease and came back with a nine-point ride. Joel’s surfing the best we’ve seen from him in the past few seasons; he hasn’t cracked a final since 2014. Tanner came close, just a mere .10 away from a powerhouse showdown with Jordy in the final. But Joel held priority in the end stages of the heat and has earned the final slot.

The 2012 World Champ’s hour hand ticks to 11.

“I thought I was done when I saw Tanner’s second turn on his last wave,” said Joel. “I was like alright; I guess I’m going home [laughs]”

 “My mantra this whole event’s been you either make the heat or go down swinging,” said Tanner. “Parko’s one of my favourite surfers and to have that heat with him out at Lowers was as good as it gets.” 

Just short of a final at home, Mr Gudang secures the best wildcard finish of the year. Every time he stood up, the local crowd erupted above the cobblestone.

Jordy looked unbeatable in the finals. By the 15 minute mark, he had a 15 point total while Joel had yet to ride a scoring wave. Parko found a decent one for a high six and with five minutes to go he needed an 8.77. Two big wraps later an 8.43 was tallied up, just short. Jordy held and lost priority. And, in the last minute, Joel was hopeful, a wave came, it had potential, and he went down on his first turn. The big man from ZAF has taken his second CT event at Trestles and with that, has slipped his way into the world title conversation. 

Jordy knows that although they’re less comfortable than a La-z-boy, human chairs feel the best.

“I’ve had a really good board beneath my feet,” said Jordy on the podium. “I came into this event with an open mind. I’ve watched Joel throughout my career he’s one of my favourite surfers of all time. It’s also has been a sad event after losing Woody (David Wood, Head of WSL Security), I’d like to dedicate this event to him.” 

Final Results:
Jordy Smith 15.80 def. Joel Parkinson 15.36

Semifinal Results:
SF 1: Jordy Smith 17.23 def. Filipe Toledo 14.50

SF 2: Joel Parkinson 14.43 def. Tanner Gudauskas 14.33

2016 WSL Jeep Leaderboard Top 5 (After Hurley Pro)
1. John John Florence 41,650

2. Gabriel Medina 37,450

3. Matt Wilkinson 36,500

4. Jordy Smith 35,200

5. Kelly Slater 29,650