High-Powered Goof Jacob Willcox (Officially) Qualifies For The CT

I know of only one person who has truly mastered the internet, and it is Ryan Heywood — the Quik photog with stunning Willie Nelson locks. 

Hand him a Smart TV remote and he will guide you through a brave new digital landscape including but not limited to Dance Floor Dale, BCF ads (that thankfully never aired), plus old nostalgic treasures such as the ‘will it blend?’ series. Hot tip: best enjoyed a bit sideways.

Via some spooky subliminal messaging, Blendtec’s incredible marketing vehicle had me thinking in their glossary of terms: ‘Will the ‘officially‘ qualified Jacob Willcox and Cole Houshmand blend in 2024?’ 

I called Stace Galbraith to discuss their fates, cross-examining the opening five events on next year’s tour schedule.

Side note: You can read our interviews with both gents here and here. Incidentally, both of them are still in the mix at the Portugal CS event — at its conclusion, we’ll do an autopsy on the rankings heading into the last event in Saquarema.

Words by Stace Galbraith.

Pipeline

Jacob: I reckon Chippo’s good for a fifth there. He’s done the Volcom Pipe Pro a bunch. His strength is backside tuberiding, we all know what he can do frontside too based on his clips, but Pipe isn’t as postcard perfect as it looks on screen. Sometimes you have to get creative, and I can see him getting sevens going left or right pretty easily. I don’t think you could say that about every goofyfooter. He could also go crazy out there and get a really big result.

Cole: I think Pipeline for Cole is going to be hard. It’s not just how scary the wave is, it’s just the general moodiness. It’s tough to find yourself there. Cole’s in this weird generational gap where he didn’t have to do QS events in Hawaii, nor did he didn’t have to qualify there. There’s just a bit of a question mark over Cole in Hawaii in general. That’s not to say he doesn’t have it in him. He smashed that event in Narrabeen, which was the biggest surf we’ve had this year on the CS. It was like Hale’iwa in reverse.  

Sunset

Jacob: Chippo is so good at Margaret River and I think Sunset shares a lot of similarities. The reason he hasn’t gotten any really stellar results in WA is because as a wildcard you’re always drawing the high seeds, but if you look at his heat scores, they’re typically really good. I’m backing Chippo to make the cut in the opening three events. He’s surfed in 13 CT events as a wildcard already. I can’t see him getting as rattled.

Cole: I could see him doing really well here. One thing the tour loves is power and he has it in spades. Not only is he technically really sound, he’s 100 kg and moves like a gymnast. Just given his body mechanics he could do serious damage there. I wouldn’t put a fifth past him. Having said that, it’s a tough opening two events to find your feet and I think we’ll learn a lot about his character. 

Peniche 

Jacob: About a billion years ago (2013), Chippo beat Kelly in Peniche helping Mick win the World Title. He’s got so much variety in his surfing, particularly in the tube. That 10 he got in Ballito was only a glimpse into how good he is. I feel a bit sheepish pegging him to get fifths in the opening three events, but that’s sorta been his year on the CS (9th, 5th, 2nd, 5th). 

Cole: I like Peniche as a rookie event because you can get a bit of that potluck. Like Callum Robson this year, you could just find yourself in a bit of clean water and luck into a nug. The 10’s that aren’t airs almost always involve some degree of luck. As a rookie I think you’ve got to swing on a few and give yourself chances. If it’s small and offshore he’ll be dangerous too. 

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Bells Beach 

Jacob: Chippo came fifth in 2019 and surfed two more Bells CT’s as a wildcard. Again, I wouldn’t put a finals day appearance past him.

Cole: So much goes into your boards and your wave and turn selection at Bells, it’s crazy. It’s an extremely difficult wave to figure out. Once you do click with it, it’s fairly straightforward but it takes a lot of time in the water. In time, I think Cole could be one of the best at that wave. Why wouldn’t he be? A big, strong goofyfooter with that fast-twitch, explosive surfing in his repertoire. I’d be surprised if he smashed it first time though…

Margaret River

Jacob: Chippo has surfed in six CTs in WA, because he almost always wins the trials. He knows how to wins heats out there, he just often comes up against the top dogs, and even then he never gets walked over. I like his chances. Hometown crowd too, that’ll feel good. 

Cole: I really can’t stress how tough I think the opening five events are for the rookies. They’re all really unique types of waves, nothing like the kind you see on the CS. You see what the good goofyfoots do out there like Ryan Callinan and Jadson Andre. They don’t overcomplicate it, they pick two waves and smash it ’til they hit the bricks. But it’s a lot easier said than done and it took years for those guys to get to that point. I think Cole can make the cut for sure, I think the back half of the year would suit him well. It’s just whether he can get his act together fairly quickly and find some rhythm in the opening events. 

Making the cut

Jacob: 83%

Cole: 66%