Glenashley’s Davey surfs to victory

GLENASHLEY’s David Van Zyl conquered an all-star final last week at the Vans Pro presented by HIC, a World Surf League (WSL) Men’s Qualifying Series (QS) 3,000 event. Only the second non-Hawaii surfer to win the Vans Pro, Van Zyl is the first international athlete to take the title after besting former event winner, Ezekiel Lau (Hawaii), big wave connoisseur Jack Robinson (Australia) and Barron Mamiya (Hawaii), who earned runner-up, third and fourth place respectively.

His biggest professional win to date, Van Zyl, 26, had an underdog victory after climbing out of a combo situation in the final and pulling ahead of heat frontrunner Lau. With priority, the South African scored a 6.67 (out of a possible 10) for an aggressive, well-timed turn in the critical part of the section, then picked up another wave under priority toward the end of the heat. He went vertical on two turns to score an 8.00 and moved into first place to shake up the standings.

“I can’t believe it, I’m so stoked, I went into the Final just so stoked to have made the final,” said Van Zyl. “I just wanted to surf and get a few waves, I wasn’t really planning on winning or doing anything crazy. I just wanted to get good scores and good waves. I was a bit nervous at the start, I actually was comboed for pretty much half the heat so to come back at the end was really special.”

Van Zyl last tasted victory in 2018 when he won his first QS event in local waters at the VW Nelson Mandela Bay Surf Pro, in Port Elizabeth.

“All these guys are insane,” Van Zyl commented of his fellow finalists. “Obviously Zeke, he’s won this event before, he’s so powerful and he knows this wave really well. Jack Robbo, he’s a master out here, he’s so good. He’s not Hawaiian but he pretty much is, he just rips this wave. And Barron is probably top three, four guys out there, he’s really good and rides small boards. So coming into that final I was just so happy to have made it and it’s just really special.”

You can also sign up for news alerts on Telegram. Send us a Telegram message (not an SMS) with your name and surname (ONLY) to 060 532 5532.  

Here’s where you can download Telegram on Android or Apple.