Procter Wins Hyundai Pro St Clair

Gisborne surfer Daniel Procter took out the tightest final of the season today winning the third event of the Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour held at St Clair Beach, Dunedin today (Sunday 21st February).

The final day of surfing took place in pristine conditions at St Clair Beach with barely a breath of wind all day and perfect 1.0m - 1.5m waves.

The battle took place from the get go in the 25 minute final. Procter was close behind local surfer Leroy Rust (Dun) in opening his account with massive scores of 8.25, 7.0 and 8.5 respectively before ending the final with another 8.5 point ride for a 17.0 point heat total. His surfing was a perfect mix of traditional surfing mixed with some big powerful turns.

"Oh awesome bro, I had a shocker at Sandy Bay so it is good to make the long trip down here worth while with a win today" said Procter. Procter likened the waves during the final to that of his home town of Gisborne and attributed the good waves to his win "The wave is perfect, it has good bowl sections and a nice nose ride section in the middle before a final end section that allows you to finish the wave off strongly" said Procter adding "If you couldn't get the big scores out there with what was on offer then you might as well go home".

Procter battled Rust throughout the final and once he took the lead he played the competitive game with Rust stopping him from getting the best waves.

"Leroy started the final on fire but I battled back. "It is all part of competitive surfing, you can't just give the title away if you are in the lead" said a happy Procter.
 

Procter jumps from seventeenth to second on the ratings as a result of his win with today's third placed surfer Dylan Barnfield (Ohope) now leading the ratings.

Local surfer Leroy Rust stuck with Procter throughout the final and was cheered on by a massive crowd of spectators that lined The Esplanade guard rails above the surfers. Rust opened up with consecutive waves of 8.0 and 7.50 with big turns and clean traditional surfing.

However, after the excellent start Rust still found himself sitting behind Procter. Rust got one last chance to push for the win surfing a nice sized right hander. Requiring a 9.0 point ride for the win, Rust fell short scoring 8.0 points.

"A little bit frustrated, it was close - I needed a longer ride toward the end" stated Rust post final. "Everyone was ripping in the final so it was good to be part of it. The support from the locals gave me the confidence I needed today but it wasn't quite enough. I am coming up for Whangamata so hopefully we get some waves and I can go one better then" finished Rust.

Third placed surfer Dylan Barnfield got off to a very slow start in his second final of the Tour this year. However an excellent wave midway through the final scored an 8.25 which put him back in contention after a nice hang ten and several big turns. His last wave was a 7.5 point ride giving him a 15.75 point total to beat double finalist Jackson Winter (Aust) in fourth place with a 15.15 point heat total.

Earlier in the day Barnfield and Rust worked their way to late progression over Shayne Baxter (Chch) and Duncan Cameron (Mnt) in the first semifinal. Procter and Winter overcame Owen Barnes (Mnt) and Thomas Kibblewhite (Auck) in the second semifinal.

Mischa Davis (Piha) took her first win of her short longboard career in the Women's Division Final today. Davis scored a heat-high 6.1 point ride late in the heat on a clean right hander. Combined with her 4.65 point ride Davis amassed a 10.75 point heat total.

Alexis Poulter (Rag) led the final for much of the 25 minute final after posting 9.65 points. Christchurch surfer and defending Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour champion Daisy Thomas finished the final in third place. Thomas now slips behind Davis to second on the ratings as a result of her third placing today. Sydney surfer Claire Norman placed fourth in the final repeating her Sandy Bay performance two weeks ago.

Jackson Winter (Noosa Heads, Aust) scooped the Junior Men's Final for the second event in a row to remain undefeated on the Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour in 2010. Winter scored 14.85 in the final pipping the local surfer for the second time at the event. Jae Kilgour (Dun) surfed brilliantly in the final to score 12.75, the only surfer to challenge Winter. Christchurch surfer luke O'Neill placed third in the final ahead of Sam Poulter (Rag) in fourth.

Double finalist Grant Cochrane (Chch) Dominated the Over 40 Men's Final from the outset after scoring 7.0 points out of a possible 10 on his first ride of the 25 minute final. He ended the final with an 11.25 point heat total.

The result is Cochrane's best ever and he will put the win alongside his Over 50's win at Sandy Bay two weeks ago. Fellow Christchurch surfer Paul Bennett secured his second runner up finish of the day placing second ahead of Steve Tyro (Chch) in third and Michael Thomson (Rag) in fourth.

Michael Thomson (Rag) went one better than Sandy Bay to win the Over 50 Men's Final and made up for his fourth placing in the Over 40's. Thomson scored 11.0 in the final to beat his opponents, the long winding lefthanders suiting the Raglan surfer. Christchurch surfer Paul Bennett placed second in the final after being in form all weekend but unable to finish it off with an 8.95 point heat total in the final. Whangarei surfer Viv Treacy placed third in the final ahead of event two winner Grant Cochrane who suffered an interference with Treacy mid way through the final.

Shayne Baxter (Chch) made it back to back victories in the Starboard Stand Up Paddleboard Division. Baxter posted a 15.5 point total heat score completing some critical tail slide turns maximising the use of his paddle. Baxter now extends out to a significant lead on the ratings going into the fourth event of the Tour in two weeks time. Jeremy Stephenson (Auck) placed second in the final unable to match the pace set by Baxter. Stephenson finished ahead of Mike Stewart (QTown) in third and Mike Burnard (QTown) in fourth.

Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour St Clair Beach, Dunedin Results.

Open Men's Semifinals
Heat 1
Dylan Barnfield (Ohope), 1, Leroy Rust (Dun), 2, Shayne Baxter (ChCh), 3, Duncan Cameron (Mnt), 4
Heat 2
Daniel Proctor (Gis), 1, Jackson Winter (Aus), 2, Owen Barnes (Mnt), 3, Thomas Kibblewhite (Auck), 4

Open Men's Final
Daniel Proctor (Gis), 1, Leroy Rust (Dun), 2, Dylan Barnfield (Ohope), 3, Jackson Winter (Aus), 4

Open Women Semifinals
Heat 1
Daisy Thomas (ChCh), 1, Claire Norman (Sydney), 2, Tsuneyo (Sunny) Yoshida (Rag), 3
Heat 2
Mischa Davis (Oratia), 1, Alexis Poulter (Rag), 2, Natasha Civil (Dun), 3

Open Women Final
Mischa Davis (Oratia), 1, Alexis Poulter (Rag), 2, Daisy Thomas (ChCh), 3, Claire Norman (Sydney), 4

Under 18 Men's Final
Jackson Winter (Noosa Heads), 1, Jae Kilgour (Dun), 2, Luke O'Neill (ChCh), 3, Sam Poulter (Rag), 4

Over 40s Final
Grant Cochrane (ChCh), 1, Paul Bennett (ChCh), 2, Stephen Tyro (ChCh), 3, Mike Thomson (Rag), 4

Over 50 Men's Semifinals
Heat 1
Paul Bennett (Chch), 1, Grant Cochrane (ChCh), 2, Tim Clemence (ChCh), 3
Heat 2
Mike Thomson (Rag), 1, Viv Treacy (Ocean Beach), 2, David Storck (Auck), 3

Over 50 Men's Final
Mike Thomson (Rag), 1, Paul Bennett (Chch), 2, Viv Treacy (Ocean Beach), 3, Grant Cochrane (ChCh), 4

Stand Up Paddleboard Final
Shayne Baxter (Chch), 1, Jeremy Stephenson (Auck), 2, Mike Stewart (Qtown), 3, Hugh Bernard (Qtown), 4

Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour Men's Top 10

1, Dylan Barnfield (Ohope), 2435
2, Daniel Proctor (Gis), 2300
3, Jackson Winter (Noosa), 2225
4, Leroy Rust (Dun), 2095
5, Owen Barnes (Mnt), 2025
5, Shayne Baxter (ChCh), 2025
7, Taylor Jensen (USA), 2000
8, Thomas Kibblewhite (Auck), 1733
9, Josh Constable (Aust), 1720
10, Ant McColl (Mnt), 1650

The remaining events for the 2010 Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour follow:

Hyundai National Longboard Championships, Whangamata - 6th - 7th March
Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour Event 5, Port Waikato - 26th - 27th March