As for the Hurley Pro, which is set to kick off in a few days, is always a favorite of the surfers on Tour and of the fans. This contest is held at Lower Trestles in San Clemente, CA, arguably one of the best (or best liked) waves in the world. It is a perfect A-frame, where the waves break both left and right.
The forecast for the beginning of the contest is looking great - at least 3-4 foot waves for the first day or two, which should make for some great heats. This contest has put on a great event the over the past decade; while there has been a familiar face at the end of each one, it is always full of good surfing and excitement. No one can forget in 2010 when Andy Irons made a strong run, almost getting to the finals. Last year, we saw one of the three Kelly vs Owen finals. This year should be no different.
I put together my Fantasy Surfer team with two requirements in mind - good turns and aerial ability. I decided that John John Florence, Kelly Slater, Owen Wright, Kolohe Andino, Miguel Pupo, Pat Gudauskas, Julian Wilson and wildcard, Conner Coffin.
John John has been on fire all year and also got a win in Brazil. He has proved to all of us that he is capable of surfing in all conditions, even though that many of us already knew that. He usually has good results when surfing at Trestles, but I expect him to excel in this event. His airs are arguably the best and his turns are also fantastic. If the swell picks up, the rest of the field better watch out because when there is a solid swell, Trestles produces some great barrels.
Kelly needs no introduction. Since 2004 (8 years), he has won 5 times here. He has made every final since 2004 - that non final result was a SEMI FINAL result. Needless to say, Kelly is the most dominant surfer at Trestles and at the Hurley pro. I expect him to have an equally good result at this contest. Lets not all forget his rivalry between him and Owen Wright last year that put them both in the final. His capabilities here should scare the other surfers in the contest.
Owen Wright was also a no brainer for me. As I just said, he made the final last year during his 3 finals in a row featuring himself and Kelly. This punchy wave will favor his style. It also gives him a chance to show off his strong backside surfing.
Julian Wilson has had the results that he needed in the past few contests. After his win at the US Open at Huntington Beach, he finally seems comfortable and hungry for last day results. He surfed really well here last year and could have gotten to the finals if it weren't for an interference call against Owen Wright that ended his run. I am predicting that Julian makes it to the last day again and has a really good chance of making it to the finals this year.
Miguel Pupo is someone that I think can take out the field in waves like this. He did the same thing at the US Open and made it to the final where he lost out to Julian. He has also proven himself in waves that I personally thought would show his weaknesses (Fiji and Teahupoo). This kid will be fighting Gabriel Medina as the next Brazilian leader.
The next 3 surfers I chose for obvious reasons: this is a wave that they grew up surfing.
Kolohe Andino has been having a rough year this year between bad results in the first half of the year and sustaining an injury that forced him to sit out in Tahiti. But with the contest being held in his backyard, I can't see him having another bad result - especially here. Last year, he won the U18 USA Championships here. Keep an eye out for "Brother" as he will not let his hometown down.
Pat Gudauskas is another local. Like Kolohe, he hasn't had that great of a year. He has a history of doing well at contests here; this year, he had a good result at the Nike Lowers Pro, an event that Gabriel Medina ended up winning. For being a low price in the Fantasy Surfer pool, I see him as a bargain and a surfer who will do well in this contest.
I decided to pick Conner Coffin between the two wildcards - the other being Evan Geiselman - due to his power surfing and aerial madness. He grew up in Santa Barbara, which allowed him to grow up surfing the point-break wave, Rincon. I think that it is safe to say that surfing this wave his whole life sculpted his power surfing style. Last year, Conner won the U16 USA Championships at Trestles. Even though he didn't grow up surfing this wave as much as the local boys, his knowledge of this wave is better than most of the guys on tour. Mix that with his style of surfing and his airs and you have a dangerous wildcard.
These are my surfers and I have a feeling that the winner will be one of these gentlemen - Who are yours?
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