The Hurley Pro, drawn out for a week due to poor conditions, finally had some decent sets filling in on saturday. HD video footage is still available on the Hurley Pro website, along with detailed heat results, photos and more from what always promises to be one of Orange County's most important events in the world of competitive surfing.
With conditions fluctuating all week from choppy and shapeless to clean and peaky, athletes had to adapt to a wide range of waves, even at the famously consistent break at Lowers.
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MIck Fanning took home the “richest winner's prize purse in surfing history” ($105,000). Sounds alot like the other “richest winner's purse in surfing history,” awarded to HB local Brett Simpson at the US Open of Surfing earlier this summer ($100,000).
Any guesses what the next one will be? I'm going with $110,000–although $106,000 might also be a good guess. As long as each one can continue to be called “the largest in history,” right?
Aussie Fanning beat out American Dane Reynolds in the finals to become this year's champ. According to Hurley.com, this was Fanning's first win at an ASP Dream Tour event in California. Out of a total of 10 ASP World Tour events, the Pro is stop number six. It's an important milsestone for surfers on the tour, marking the more-than-halfway-there point in a long, intense run at the most challenging athletes and events the surfing world has to offer.
With his victory this weekend, Fanning moved to number 2 on the tour. Reynolds, despite losing the final to Fanning, also made his mark at the event, moving up to number 11 on the tour and drawing oooos and aawwws from spectators with his aggressively innovative style. Hurley tipped their hat to Reynolds, calling his second place finish a “career best for the young Californian.” He pulled off some of the highest scoring individual waves of the day.
