The first local casualty happened Tuesday afternoon at the Billabong Pro Tahiti, with San Clemente’s Tanner Gudauskas knocked off the World Tour after not being able to advance in Round 2.
New rules will have only 32 of the 45 world’s top surfers continue on the tour after this event, and move onto the Hurley Pro at Trestles mid September.
Gudauskas was knocked out in a heat against three-time world champ Andy Irons, who scored a solid 8.23, and a 6.83. Guduaskas was stuck in a flat ocean with a heat total of 5.0.
A visibly disappointed Gudauskas did a post-heat interview, trying to keep a smile on for fans and family watching.
“It was a tough heat out there,” he said. “As much as a bad thing that I’m off of tour, it’s made us push as hard as we could. It’s been fun to put it on the line,” he said.
“He still has a lot of years ahead of him, he’s still young,” Irons said of Gudauskas. “He’s such a cool kid, I wish him the best of luck.”
The second day of the Billabong Pro Tahiti is happening now, with 3-foot waves at Teahupoo.
Local surfers – Brett Simpson, Nate Yeomans and Pat Gudauskas - are still in the hunt to stay on tour. They had mixed results during round 1, with none taking first in their heats and both Gudauskas bros taking last place in their 3-man heats.
Pat Gudauskas had a great heat in Round 2, winning over his good friend Roy Powers, of Hawaii. Gudauskas started the heat off strong, scoring a 6.83 on an early wave. The win moves him in the next round, and it’s still unknown if he can stay on tour.
“It’s just one step at a time, it seems like anything is possible,” he said on a webcast interview. “You just try and get a rhythm with the ocean and have a good time out there.”
He’s trying not to think about the potential of a big bad cut, but that isn’t easy.
“It’s tough, if you’re thinking about it, it’s a distraction,” he said. “We’re trying not to think about it, but everyone is thinking about it. I feel like I belong here, so I’m just going to start cracking on it.”
Nate Yeomans, of San Clemente, had a great heat against Jadson Andre, scoring a 12.73 against the Brazilian’s 9.0 heat total.
SAN CLEMENTE’S NATE YEOMANS. PHOTO COURTESY OF ASP
With the exception of Simpson, who had a good enough score at the Billabong Pro in South Africa to be in a solid spot, all O.C. surfers need to do well at this contest to stay on tour.
Huntington Beach’s Simpson was knocked out of the contest, after scoring a 11.93 heat total behind Dusty Payne’s 12.77.
The main website to watch the contest has been glitchy, so click here to view it live.
