Orange County has its fair share of surfers traveling the world to earn points to one day make it into the big leagues to join the World Tour, where they would compete for big bucks against top-notch surfers like Kelly Slater.
Historically, the U.S. Open of Surfing is a great venue for stand-out, up-and-coming surfers to not only gain a lot of points on the World Qualifying Series (WQS) because it is rated 6 stars (the only step higher is a 6-star prime), but it’s also a great place to perform in front of massive crowds and make a name.
This year could be different.
Hurley - which signed on this year as title sponsor - is mixing things up, bringing some of the best surfers in the world to compete in the contest. They added an all-star event with surfers like nine-time WCT champion Slater and former world champ Andy Irons, and those surfers will also be added to the mix of surfers competing to win the entire contest – and nab a record $100,000 first prize.
It’s the first time in years the U.S. Open of Surfing has had this caliber of talent competing, and factor in the biggest south swell to hit in years – this one could be for the record books.
When former world champ Ian Cairns heard about the line up of surfers to compete this year, his first thought of how unfair it might be to the WQS guys who are working hard for points to join the tour. Then, he thought: “You have to be able to beat those guys, so let’s step it up and give it a go, see what they can do.”
Doing well this weekend at the U.S. Open of Surfing can be critical for the WQS surfers – a big win here could help get them a spot on the World Tour.
“It’s going to be really exciting,” said Robert Shadley, media relations for ASP. “The level of surfing, it’s going to be a world-class event, without a doubt some of the best surfing in the world.”
According to ASP, here are the local surfers currently within the top 50 on the WQS expected at the U.S. Open of Surfing:
Tanner Gudauskas: Currently rated 6th on the WQS and is top American overall. Tanner’s best results this year were a win at the 6-Star Mr. Price Pro Ballito in South Africa and a third place finish at the 6-Star PRIME (prime status is allocated only to world-class waves and offer more points than a regular 6-Star) 6.0 Lowers Pro. Tanner was the winner of last year’s U.S. Open Pro Junior.
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San Clemente’s Patrick Gudauskas ended his hot streak Sunday morning in the U.S. Open quarterfinals.
Earning him a score of 9.17, not only did the wave advance him to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open, but the San Clemente native did so by knocking out three-time world title surfer Andy Irons.
Four heats into Thursday’s 
