OC Register’s Fred Swegles reports that Huntington Beach’s Brett Simpson and San Clemente’s Patrick Gudauskas have moved closer in their quests to qualify for surfing’s major leagues in 2010.

Simpson placed third and Gudauskas fifth in the $145,000 Rio Surf Pro International, a 6-star event in the Association of Surfing Professionals’ World Qualifying Series.

Gudauskas remains No. 4 in the WQS standings, like last week, but solidified his position. Simpson moved up from No. 9 to No. 6 in the standings. The top 15 WQS surfers normally qualify for the ASP World Championship Tour.

Read more from Swegle’s story here.

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