Jordy Smith wins Hurley Pro
Jordy Smith won the Hurley Pro in California and moves into World Title Contention.
SOUTH Africa’s Jordy Smith claimed victory at the Hurley Pro in California last week.
He defeated 2012 World Champion Joel Parkinson in the final of Stop No 8 of 11 on the Samsung Galaxy World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT) in 1 to 1.3 metre waves at the high performance cobblestone break of Lower Trestles.
The win was Smith’s fifth on the Championship Tour, his second at Lower Trestles and his best result of 2016 season, earning the 28 year-old from Durban US $100,000 (R1.4 million) and 10,000 points which lifted him to No. 4 on the Jeep Leaderboard and firmly into the World Title race with three events remaining on the schedule.
“I’ve had a really good surfboard under my feet this event. I came into the event with an open mind. I missed it last year (through injury) when the waves were firing so I just wanted to come in and take it heat-by-heat. I’ve watched Joel [Parkinson] throughout my career and he’s one of my favourite surfers. I’m frothing and I’m over the moon,” Smith said.
Smith’s tactics of staying in the inside position at the start paid off and he established a strong lead with a 6.0 and an excellent 8.17 early in the final as the two former event winners went head-to-head. But Parkinson responded with a 6.93 and a critical 8.43, the highest scoring ride of the clash, before Smith added a 7.63 to his tally. Without priority and three minutes on the clock, the Australian needed a 7.27 to take the win, but was not able to land the requirement.
“If I can be in with a shot at the World Title this year then that will be great. The European events can go either way so I’m just going to try my hardest and see how it goes. I think my Round 4 match-up against Kelly [Slater] and Michel Bourez was the toughest here, and of course that semi-final against Filipe (Toledo) was a big heat too,” continued Smith.
