Jordy Smith Wins Hurley Pro Trestles

Jordy Smith has capped off a dominant week of surfing at Lower Trestles by taking out the Hurley Pro. After dispatching of the form surfer of the event in Filipe Toledo, Jordy carried the momentum from his semi-final clash into the final against Joel Parkinson, where he unleashed his trademark mix of powerful rail-work and light-footed flair on the small, crumbly rights to outpoint his older counterpart by less than half a point.

It was the battle of two generation-defining natural-footers, with Jordy desperate to capitilise on an opportunity to get himself up into the title race while Parko just wanted to win again after two relatively lacklustre seasons. The final started slow, with both surfers shouldering for position in the early stages of the match-up, before Jordy got going ten minutes into the exchange with a flurry of mid-range rights. It was his third wave, however, that saw him reconnect with the aggressive style of surfing he’s been displaying all week, as he combined a seamless blend of searing tail-slides and explosive forehand belts to net an 8.17. He immediately followed this up with an air-to-carve combo that had him sitting pretty on a 15.57 total at the halfway mark of the heat. Joel struck back soon after with a wave of his own, showcasing the kind of iconic rail-work that’s clearly influenced Jordy over the years, but he fell on an air reverse attempt off the end-section which kept the score from going as high as it could. He found another wave late in the encounter which gave him the opportunity to capture the lead, but despite linking together four polished turns the former world champ fell short by a third of the point.

In the last sixty seconds, Jordy took a victory lap on one of the rights that had been so kind to him all week, pushing his lead out a little further as he finished with a bow to his adopted home crowd. It was an impressive performance by the big South African, and one that showed just how dominant he can be with some momentum behind him. He’s now moved up into fourth on the ratings and has put himself into position to challenge for the world title as the tour moves into Europe.

Final Results

Men’s

1^st Jordy Smith 15.80

2^nd Joel Parkinson 15.36

3^rd Filipe Toledo

3^rd Tanner Gudauskas

Women’s

1^st Tyler Wright 17.13

2^nd Steph Gilmore 15.13

3^rd Sage Ericson

3^rd Nikki Van Dijk