September 19, 2009

Lower Trestles, San Clemente, CA-  In yet another unprecedented and unequalled prize purse ASP contest, Hurley bests their previous “largest paycheck” contest of the US Open Of Surfing with the 2009 Hurley Pro, where a grand total of $105,000 was up for grabs.  Mick Fanning was the lucky shredder to walk away from Lowers with the check, beating out Dane Reynolds in the finals.

Wow, you wanna talk about money just flowing out with the ebb, it wasn’t more than several months prior that Hurley made professional surfing history by offering the highest payout for the champion of the 2009 Hurley US Open Of Surfing.  HB local Brett Simpson stepped up his game to nab that check of $100,000, but for the Hurley Pro, an additional $5,000 was added to the pot.

Has Bob been feeling well lately?

One thing is certain, this year’s US Open was the most crowded I’ve ever seen the event in at least 4 or 5 years.  Granted, unemployment statistics continue to climb through the roof, and this years contestants paid witness to the absolute best swell conditions Huntington has seen since winter of 2007, but  kudos to the Hurley crew for really bringing it and stepping up to bringing some excitement back to professional surf contests.

I’d be willing to bet that this year’s Hurley Pro contest organizer Pat O’Connell wished he had just a little bit of that swell action from The Open.  The conditions for the final day at Lowers was clean and glassy early on, but that onshore breeze that started up about 10am gradually cranked up throughout the afternoon.  That in cahoots with a super low tide condition late in the arvo made for interesting sets that required riders to truly exert creative moves to claim the highest scores.

Highlights of this event was hooking up with Jasmine Nguyen, sporting her Yashica Mat 124 with “That 70′s” neckstrap, and finally getting to meet San Clemente local Hugh Berenger.  Hugh is wicked both on a stick as well as behind the lens, and I’ve been a fan of his work for over a year now.  Nobody can quite touch his composure and eye for what truly represents his home break, and this is truly evident in his work.

Mick really looked strong, just as strong as he looked at the US Open against Simpo in the final round.  Congrats to him for taking home the check… that’ll pay for a lot of airline baggage fees for surfboard bags.

Hey, wake up and check out some of the action from the last day of this year’s Hurley Pro!

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