CJ Hobgood takes The O'Neill World Cup
- December 4, 2008
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- By Story/Photos By TOB
The O'Neill World Cup of Surfing ran in good to excellent waves today on a rising WNW swell. To win, you had to surf 4 rounds. CJ Hobgood surfed all 4 rounds with great style, and won his first contest on the North Shore.
It was a beautiful day and a great end to a great contest. This may be the most memorable Triple Crown in a long time. There have been perfect waves for the final day at Haleiwa, and excellent conditions for the final day at Sunset Beach.
The final was CJ Hobgood from Florida, Marcus Hickman from Hawaii, Jordy Smith for South Africa, and Tom Whitaker from Australia. CJ took the early lead. Jordy got pounded and broke his board and hurt his hip. Marcus got pounded on a bomb. Tom took over the lead. CJ found a bomb, made a steep drop, hit a couple of turns and then a 10 foot wall of whitewater hit him. If you have ever surfed Sunset, you know that it is some of the most powerful whitewater in the world. When you are swallowed by a 10 foot wall of whitewater, you are lucky to live. The announcer said that was it for CJ and it might not be the score he needed. About 100 feet later, CJ appeared from the whitewater, pumped his fist, got an 8+ and ended up winning the contest.
There weren't many Floridians around, and I had CJ's hat and shades at the beach marshal table, so I grabbed my camera and ran down the beach and helped Damien and another guy that I didn't really see carry CJ to the stage. I carried his board and had his back. It was an honor to be a part of this.
The win puts CJ into second place in the Triple Crown. Leading is young Hawaiian Junior Pro Dusty Payne. Dusty is a guy that I predict will be in the WCT soon. He surfs faster than Mick Fanning, and made the semi's at Sunset and the finals at Haleiwa. He will get a wild card to the Billabong Pipeline Masters.
The Billabong Pipeline Masters is the third leg of the Triple Crown. The waiting period starts Monday, but it looks like the first day will be Wednesday.
The O'Neill World Cup was the last WQS contest of the year, which means that the top 15 that make the WCT have been decided. There is only one possible double qualifier, so Gabe Kling is the only east coaster to qualify. Nathaniel Curran is the only other US surfer to qualify. Patrick Gudaskis who won the O'Neill Sebastian Inlet Pro Presented by Ron Jon, and stays in Melbourne Shores when on the east coast ended in 17th place. He led the standings for most of the year, but just could get the result he needed in the end.