Andy Irons surfed a heat yesterday. Since Andy's in the middle of a much-needed sabbatical from competition this kind of thing year passes for news this year. Truth be told, the elder Irons probably wouldn't be here if not for an appearance fee, and like a lot of veteran pros he shares some cynicism toward the ASP, but to his credit, when Andy Irons commits to something it's basically impossible for him to give anything less than his all.

Andy being welcomed back by the Huntington fans.
All photos in this post by Michael Lallande/hurley.com

Irons, like his foe Kelly Slater, is a competitor. A fierce competitor. And one thing fierce competitors can't do is roll over...for anything. Not a game of ping-pong, a poker game, or even a seemingly insignificant heat in average beachbreak slop. And while that trait is worthy of admiration, when left uncontrolled, it drives some competitors insane. Taking a page from Kelly, Irons has been working on some 'letting go' of his own during his break. Time will reveal whether or not he's successful, but he certainly looked sharp on Tuesday, and the fans on hand in Huntington Beach were genuinely thrilled to see him. If Irons can tap into a little of his 1998 magic (he won both the WQS and the ASP World Tour events held at the U.S. Open that year) and nab the $100,000 first prize, it'll seem to many like he never left.

Bruce Irons, on the other hand, seems determined to make himself irrelevant as quickly as possible. He netted a little over 5 total points and finished last in his heat yesterday, leaving a group of hot young pro juniors watching more than a little miffed, "What happened to him? He didn't do a single turn." Of course, Bruce's whole image is predicated on him not giving a shit, which apparently sells shorts, but let's not forget he is Andy's brother. Bruce's wires have been crossed for years because he's far more competitive than he'd like to admit, even if he's a lousy competitor. When he rolls over like he did yesterday it only tangles the internal wires more.

Bruce Irons, looking for the nearest exit sign.

But Bruce needn't worry. He is to Volcom what Occy is to Billabong, and the boys at Veeco HQ will give him three or four more years of screwing around before they force him to do the webcasting at the VQS championships, which, come to think of it, could be amusing. And for what it's worth we may see the better side of Bruce on Saturday in the tow-assisted expression session. He's also got a new video out which should reveal whether or not his surfing is reaching higher levels. Let's hope so.

For a full event preview, click here. As for the recent headlines, here you go:

1. Nat Young eliminates Damien Hobgood and Sunny Garcia; the kid is ripping on his backhand, as predicted.
2. Austin Ware loses early; this is a blow to the Californian's WQS campaign since he was rated 12th coming in.
3. Kelly Slater's heat postponed; a fog delay and Kelly's late arrival from J-Bay means he's surfing today.
4. Owen Wright wins heat, to face Fanning and Machado next; in what is undoubtedly the most heavily stacked heat of this round Fanning and Machado will have their hands full with the man leading the WQS charge this year.
5. The swell is starting to show!; the chicks are scoring some prime HB conditions this morning. Slater is due to surf around 1:30 PM.
Highlight reels below provided by Tom Aiello/Aaron Lieber/Hurley.com




Eric Geiselman looked solid.

Take your pick.

With a new swell filling in and heavy hitters on tap today things should start getting interesting at the Hurley U.S. Open of Surfing. Though competition started all the way back on Saturday with some Pro Junior's and Women's prelims, today the WQS 6-Star main event reaches the Round of 96, where a throng of current and former world champions will do battle with several former US Open champions and a long list of up-and-comers. With $100,000 going to this year's winner, the largest prize ever in pro surfing, even tour veterans will be finding a little extra motivation.

Some of the more interesting plot lines are outlined in this breakdown...


WQS full timers certainly have their work cut out for them with the likes of Slater, Hobgodd, Irons, Fanning and Machado on hand. And there is a lot at stake for several American hopefuls, including home boy Brett Simpson, who is desperately trying to avoid a repeat of last year's slide down the rankings. While currently rated 9th on the WQS, he's on very slippery ground with several events to go. A nice defense of his home turf is necessary before he heads off to Europe.

Tanner and Patrick Gudauskas, on the other hand, will try to keep their recent momentum going. They've just returned from enormously successful campaigns in the Maldives and South Africa, where both surfed their way into the finals. Tanner's win at the Mr. Price Pro shot him all the way up the the number 6-slot in the WQS, while Pat's runner up finish in the Maldives has him sitting just ahead of Simpson in the 8th spot. Meanwhile Dusty Payne, Austin Ware and Nate Yeomans are all bunched together in the 11, 12 and 13 spots respectively.

Simpson and Tanner Gudauskas are both in the second heat of today's round. Nate Yeomans faces top ranked Jadson Andre in his heat. Pat Gudauskas has drawn former event champion Cory Lopez among others while Austin Ware faces a stacked heat with Eric Geiselman, Australia's Daniel Ross, and the battle hardened Luke Munro. As for Dusty Payne, he'll face his buddy Granger Larson and Australian standout Adam Melling.

Stay tuned for more...

It used to be the women's surfing at the U.S. Open was nothing more than an extended bathroom break. Save for a small handful of women who actually had some decent timing and a little bit of rhythm it was unbelievably painful to watch. Now, I may be dating myself a little bit here, because the girls have certainly turned things around of late, but during the whole Blue Crush movement there wasn't much to sink your teeth into. Yeah, they came in greater numbers but that didn't improve things much in the performance arena...until recently.

14-year old Malia Manuel taking it to the big girls in the 2008 U.S. Open of Surfing. Now 15, she's the youngest defending champion ever, and a threat in both the Nike 6.0 Pro Junior and the Women's Open.

I became a believer in the whole women's thing about two years ago. Not the viability of the sport, mind you, but a believer in their improved board-riding skills. While that's late by most standards but I've come around pretty big. Two years ago I made a bet with guys in the office at SURFER Magazine that a female surfer would qualify for the ASP's World Tour inside of ten years. I was nearly laughed out of the building by Jason Kenworthy, one of SURFER's lead photographers, but I made that wager after having sat through a couple WCT events and having watched Carissa Moore, who at the time, was about 13 or 14-years old. Speaking strictly in terms of style, I picked about 10 guys on the ASP World Tour who I thought were complete eye sores next to Carissa. Granted, they might be putting their boards in more radical places and with more power and speed, but from what I could tell, it was only a matter of time until Carissa, or somebody like her, matured enough to supply the missing ingredients. At the time I remember thinking Carissa was the only really hot young female talent around. Malia Manuel proved me very wrong last year.

Manuel's surfing is on display in the new film Dear and Yonder. It's both elegant and aggressive. Photo: Jimmycane

Coco Ho will be giving her friend Malia a good run this week. Photo: Jimmycane from Dear and Yonder.

At 14-years-old, Malia became the youngest person to ever win an ASP event at the U.S. Open of Surfing. Malia's surfing is elegant yet aggressive. She draws mature lines and uses her edges with precision well beyond her years. But what's even more impressive? She's not alone. In fact, there's a pretty solid crop of young girls looking to completely change the face of surfing on the women's side of the sport. Where as on the men's side there are only two surfers in the entire Top 10 who're under 25 years old, on the women's side of things it's the exact opposite. A New School movement is just hitting. And you needn't look much further than the finals of this year's Nike 6.0 women's Pro Junior to understand what I'm talking about.

Manuel and fellow Hawaiian Coco Ho have already surfed their way into the Pro Junior Final on Saturday, where they'll be joining Sage Erickson of Ventura and Cannelle Bulard of Reunion Island. For what it's worth, both Erickson and Bulard defeated Carissa Moore in the Semifinals. Moore will be out for revenge in the Open while protecting her WQS ratings lead over Coco Ho. This is probably where I should tell you that Jason Kenworthy, who doubles as a team manager for Nike 6.0, was instrumental in nabbing Moore from Roxy. In the two years since we made our bet he's come a long way on the women's thing, too. I knew he was turning the corner when he asked me a couple months ago, "Dude, what's with all these hot chicks?"

The Women's division of the U.S. Open starts Wednesday. My suggestion if you're down there, hit the head early.

If you love title races you're probably more than a little pissed off that nobody is stepping up to challenge Joel Parkinson on the world stage this year. Granted, if you're like me, you're happy for Parko, who certainly deserves his due. But titles are far more more memorable when they're hard fought ones. Case in point, I'm guessing Slater would have traded a couple of his easier-won crowns for the one he lost to Andy in 2003. Don't doubt that for a second. With Mick and Kelly both winning at record-setting paces during their title runs in '07 and '08 we're used to blowouts. Good for Parko if he wants to give chase.

But hardcore surf fans needn't be bothered by the lack of photo finish at the top spot. They can always find a race worth following, and this week's US Open of Surfing offers some great examples. Me, I'm keeping my eyes on the North American Pro Junior race. You like close ones? Well, how's 15-points sound for ya? That's the spread between current ratings leader Keanu Asing, the surprise package out of Hawaii, and Malibu's Dillon Perillo, the man hunting him down. Both surfers have already advanced to the Quarterfinals of the Nike 6.0 Pro Junior, which will resume on Thursday.

Malibu's Dillon Perillo is hoping to take over the top spot in the Pro Junior rankings in Huntington this weekend. Perillo has been on a bit of a roll in recent years, but is due for a high-profile win. Photo: Michael Lallande/Hurley.com

Perillo sporting his new look. Photo: Michael Lallande/Hurley.com

Keanu Asing has made back-to-back finals in the Pro Junior ranks, jumping all the way into the ratings lead after winning the Pier Pressure Pro last month. Photo: Michael Lallande/Hurley.com

Right now, there's no better place to get a better snapshot of the future than events like the Nike 6.0 Pro Junior, which is running in conjuction with the WQS 6-Star this week at the US Open of Surfing. Pro Juniors are limited to the best surfers under 20-years of age. By consolodating all the hot young talent in one division, the later round heats get stacked with heaps of rising young stars who, while a long way from peaking, are already huge forces to be reckoned with (case in point, Owen Wright, the current WQS leader on truly adjusted points, is the dominant Junior down in Australia.)

Evan Geiselman was on fire during the prelims. Hurley's Tom Aiello caught up with him after his heat.

There are several hot up-and-comers looking to mess with both Asing and Perillo, and none more so than Santa Cruz brace-faced Nat Young, and Newport's Andrew Doheney who are nipping at Perillo's heels. Reigning world junior champion Kai Barger, NSSA National Champion Kolohe Andino and Florida's Evan Geiselman, who is long overdue for a big result this year will also be playing huge spoiler roles. Fact is, the aforementioned might all be battling each other up in the big leagues soon, so it's fun to see how they handle prime-time pressure.


A freshly shaven Kolohe Andino has ripped his way into the quarterfinals of the Nike 6.0 Pro Junior, where he'll be hoping to keep his momentum going after winning a national title last month. Photo: Michael Lallande/Hurley.com

While the US Open of Surfing is technically a minor league event, it will be attracting serious major league talent this year now that Hurley has decided to make things a lot more interesting. Money has a funny way of doing that. Yesterday Hurley, as primary sponsor, announced that the winner of this year's Men's 6-Star WQS event will pocket $100,000, making it the largest first place prize in pro surfing history.



Apparently, former US Open Champion Rob Machado, a Hurley team rider, came up with the idea of offering real money to lure the likes of the world's best back to the Huntington Beach stage, which is where pro surfing in the Unites States was born. That kind of money will be luring even the best major league stars, including reigning world champion Kelly Slater, the semi-retired-former-world-champ Andy Irons, giving U.S. surfing fans something juicy to sink their teeth into.

This isn't the first time Hurley has raised the bar on the prize money front. Last year, at the Boost Mobile Pro held at Trestles, Bob Hurley fluffed Kelly Slater's wallet by an extra $45 grand by handing him an IOU on the final day of competition. Assuming Hurley made good on that piece of paper, Slater pocketed $75,000, which is to date, the biggest cash prize in pro surfing history. And Hurley was merely the presenting sponsor at Trestles. This year, however, Hurley has stepped into the primary backing role in the two biggest events on the U.S.Mainland, starting with the US Open of Surfing this month, and following up in September with the Hurley Pro at Trestles, which is the sixth stop on the ASP World Tour.

The record prize for this year's U.S. Open of Surfing will illuminate the rich 50 year history of surfing tournaments held at the Huntington Beach Pier. The event will feature a "True Performance" Walk of Champions, which will showcase the men's and women's champions of the original West Coast Surfing Championships that begain in 1959, through to the early 80s Op Pro Surfing Championships and the U.S. Open of Surfing. The Hurley U.S. Open of Surfing runs from July 18-26. You best get your parking spot now.