Matt Wilkinson, backside fin-ditch at Lowers, CA

Matt Wilkinson, pictured here, ain’t had the hottest year so far. Two 13ths (Gold Coast, Bells) and three 25ths (Rio, Fiji, Tahiti) aren’t ideal results. But, he recently released two clips from a Mentawais trip, in which he surfed like a top-fiver. Which, as if the point needed clarification, shows that good surfing and good competitive surfing are two very different beasts. And, he won a the Coca Cola Saquarema prime back in may. And this morning Wilko beat CJ Hobgood in the Hurley Pro, Lowers. And tomorrow he faces Kelly Slater in first heat of the day. But, it’s never a sure bet and, with Wilko’s backhand being one of the game’s best, who knows what might happen. All he needs is linked finners like this one and he could be facing his best result of the year.