John Florence Wins The Hawaiian Pro, And Might Just Win The Triple Crown

Did John John Florence just win the Triple Crown? Pretty much. He tied Frederico Morais in the final and took the lead in the quest for the jewels. 

They don’t do overtime on the WSL, which would be cool. Like a golf tournament or something. Ties suck. After tying Frederico in the final with 15.66 apiece, it goes back to John’s single-wave high score of 8.83. 

John now leads the Triple Crown. 

“I’m just going to do the same thing,” he said about Sunset. 

“It’s right down the street from my house…It seems to have worked out here, so I’ll stick with the same plan,” he added. He’ll probably ride the same 6’0” rounded pin he’s been riding all year too.

After the speed bump that is Sunset (hopefully he finds some inspiration in Mason Ho’s recent win), John just may win the Triple Crown.

Poor Frederico, because he’s a QS guy, he will more than likely not be surfing in the Pipe Masters. He’ll take a swing at Sunset, but he probably won’t get into Pipe. Same goes with fellow finalist Marc Lacomare, who titillated the judges en route to a third-place finish at the Haleiwa toilet bowl. With good results at Sunset both surfers could graduate to the big dance next year, but as far as the Triple Crown goes, unless you’re on the CT there’s no guarantee you’re going to have a go in all three events. 

Ace Buchan has a shot. So does Kelly. Wouldn’t he be a spoiler? But according to the script John will make the final of the Pipeline Masters, win it in 20-foot Third Reef barrels, and ride off into the sunset on the back of a rainbow unicorn. By default, John John Florence looks to be the 2016 Triple Crown Champion.

This is John’s third chance at a Triple Crown title. He also won it in 2011 and 2013. To start the year he won the Eddie in maxed out Waimea. Then he famously won the world title. And now a Triple Crown? What a delightful bookend to the season. Could a Nobel or a Pulitzer Prize be far behind?