FINALLY, WAVES – And An Explosive Quik Pro Round 2

SNAPPER ROCKS, Australia – After nearly a week of lay days, the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast presented by LG Mobile roared back to life today, with the world’s best surfers exploding at Duranbah Beach and Snapper Rocks.

Event No. 1 of 10 on the 2009 ASP World Tour, the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast opened up the day’s proceedings with the first eight heats of the elimination Round 2 at nearby Duranbah Beach before relocating back to the primary site of Snapper Rocks to finish the day out.

Dane Reynolds (USA), 23, 2009 ASP Dream Tour sophomore, scored the first perfect 10 of the 2009 ASP World Tour season for an incredible righthander in which he linked a barrage of high-performance maneuvers including a massive double-grab aerial seamlessly flowing into another exciting air reverse.

“It was a nice wave, it was begging for it,” Reynolds said. “I’m pretty excited as I’ve never gotten a 10 before. I think the more I just think about the wave and the less I think about a heat, the better I end up surfing. I have less pressure on myself that way.”

Reynolds’ elimination of friend and neighbor Nathaniel Curran (USA), 24, 2009 ASP Dream Tour rookie, in Round 2 of the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast, was a combination of his historic talent combined with an uncharacteristic tactical approach during the heat, utilizing priority to take a scoring wave off of Curran.

“There is less of a build up this year because the rivalry between Jordy [Smith] and myself has been forgotten,” Reynolds said. “Last year, I tried my hardest not to think about it, but it was difficult to surf under that pressure and always having Jordy [Smith] on the back of my mind. It really messed with me mentally.”

Reynolds will face Roy Powers (HAW), 28, in Round 3 when Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast competition resumes.

Jordy Smith (ZAF), 21, fellow ASP Dream Tour sophomore, exacted his revenge upon veteran Dean Morrison (AUS), 28, in a nail-biting Round 2 heat today. Morrison was the surfer who ousted Smith from Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast competition last year, and while both surfers scored the exact same heat total of a 14.50 out of a possible 20 today, it was Smith getting the nod with his 8.67 high single-wave score.

“Dean [Morrison] knows these waves so well,” Smith said. “I lost to him at this event last year. About halfway through the heat, I knew I had to get a good wave and managed to net an 8.50. I was lucky it held up for me the whole way.”

Into his second year on the prestigious ASP World Tour, Smith is enjoying the experience gained during his rookie season and the lifted weight of expectation.

“Last year was so black and white, right and wrong between Dane (Reynolds) and I,” Smith said. “This year, it’s cool that we are both the underdogs. All eyes are on everybody else so hopefully we can sneak through the doggy door.”

Smith will battle veteran Taylor Knox (USA), 32, in Round 3 when competition resumes.

Drew Courtney (AUS), 30, 2009 ASP World Tour rookie, caused the upset of the day when he ousted current ASP World No. 9 Bobby Martinez (USA), 26, from Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast competition in Round 2.

“There weren’t many waves at the start of the heat but I managed to get off to a nice start with a 6.50-point ride,” Courtney said. “Bobby (Martinez) followed that with a pretty similar score and then I managed to get a 7-point ride. From there, I just sat on him for the rest of the heat. Bobby is capable of anything so I just held priority and sat next to him.”

Courtney will face current ASP World No. 3 Taj Burrow (AUS), 30, in Round 3 of the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast when competition resumes.

Event organizers will reconvene tomorrow morning at 6am for a possible 7am start.

Highlights from today’s Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast will be available via www.quiksilverpro.com.au

The Roxy Pro Gold Coast pres. by LG Mobile will be on standby today for a possible 11 am call, conditions permitting.

For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com 

QUIKSILVER PRO GOLD COAST ROUND 2 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 15.00 def. Daniel Wills (AUS) 8.67
Heat 2: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 14.56 def. Corey Ziems (AUS) 10.27
Heat 3: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 15.33 def. Aritz Aranburu (EUK) 10.06
Heat 4: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 16.33 def. Marlon Lipke (DEU) 10.50
Heat 5: Drew Courtney (AUS) 13.60 def. Bobby Martinez (USA) 12.53
Heat 6: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 15.53 def. Phillip MacDonald (AUS) 12.73
Heat 7: Dustin Barca (HAW) 11.34 def. Chris Ward (USA) 9.50
Heat 8: David Weare (ZAF) 15.73 def. Kai Otton (AUS) 15.50
Heat 9: Jihad Khodr (BRA) 14.26  def. Tim Reyes (USA) 13.67
Heat 10: Tom Whitaker (AUS) 15.33 def. Gabe Kling (USA) 8.83
Heat 11: Dayyan Neve (AUS) 11.34 def. Michel Bourez (PYF) 8.74
Heat 12: Chris Davidson (AUS) 16.67 def. Michael Picon (FRA) 12.34
Heat 13: Dane Reynolds (USA) 18.83 def. Nathaniel Curran (USA) 13.24
Heat 14: Taylor Knox (USA) 15.00 def. Mick Campbell (AUS) 12.50
Heat 15: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 14.50 def. Dean Morrison (AUS) 14.50
Heat 16: Roy Powers (HAW) 14.67 def. Ben Dunn (AUS) 12.23

QUIKSILVER PRO GOLD COAST ROUND 3 RESULTS:
Heat 1: C.J. Hobgood (USA) vs. Dustin Barca (HAW)

Heat 2: Kieren Perrow (AUS) vs. Jihad Khodr (BRA)

Heat 3: Dayyan Neve (AUS) vs. Chris Davidson (AUS)

Heat 4: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Tiago Pires (PRT)

Heat 5: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Kekoa Bacalso (HAW)

Heat 6: Jeremy Flores (FRA) vs. Nic Muscroft (AUS)

Heat 7: Damien Hobgood (AUS) vs. Heitor Alves (BRA)

Heat 8: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Julian Wilson (AUS)

Heat 9: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Jay Thompson (AUS)

Heat 10: Taylor Knox (USA) vs. Jordy Smith (ZAF)

Heat 11: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. Greg Emslie (ZAF)

Heat 12: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) vs. Josh Kerr (AUS)

Heat 13: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Drew Courtney (AUS)

Heat 14: Dane Reynolds (USA) vs. Roy Powers (HAW0

Heat 15: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Tim Boal (FRA)

Heat 16: Tom Whitaker (AUS) vs. David Weare (ZAF)

ROXY PRO GOLD COAST SEMIFINALS MATCH-UPS:
SF 1: Paige Hareb (NZL) vs. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS)
SF 2: Coco Ho (HAW) vs. Melanie Bartels (HAW)