Travis was in top form during his Round 1 heat at the Quiksilver Pro.
Travis Logie and Jordy Smith added to the good start by fellow Saffa Bianca Buitendag on the Gold Coast, by winning their opening heats of the Quiksilver Pro and securing the top two combined heat scores of Round 1.
With event organisers having shifted the contest down the superbank to Greenmount, instead of the usual Snapper Rocks, the change in venue seemed to suit the SA duo as they convincingly won their respective heats – Travis looking the most menacing with his lightning fast backhand and a duly deserved highest combined heat score of the day – 18.20 out of a possible 20.0pts. Jordy was close behind with his 17.93 out of 20.00pts.
They both now advance directly to Round 3, where they will continue their charge toward a good start to 2013.
Watch highlights of Travis and Jordy’s heat here>
or check out the press release below:
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Press Release: Tuesday March 5 2013
Travis Logie & Jordy Smith post highest scores on Day 1 of Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast
Backhand blasts like this ensured Travis tallied up the highest heat score of Round 1.
RAINBOW BAY, Queensland/Australia (Tuesday, March 5, 2013) – The world’s best surfers donned the competitor’s singlet for this first time this season as Round 1 of the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast presented by Land Rover was completed in clean two-to-three foot (1 metre) waves at Rainbow Bay.
Event No. 1 of 10 on the 2013 ASP World Championship Tour (WCT), the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast will set the tone for the world’s best surfers this season and if the performances of today are any indication, the talent pool amongst this year’s ASP Top 34 runs historically deep.
South Africans Travis Logie and Jordy Smith started their respective 2013 campaigns impressively by posting the two highest heat totals of the day’s action. Both progressed directly to Round 3, skipping the cutthroat Round 2 elimination heats.
Logie, 32, took top honours by racking up scores of 9.27 and 8.93 and a tally of 18.20 out of a possible 20 for a series of critical backhand combinations.
“It feels so good to start the year off with a heat win,” Logie said. “The past few seasons, my starts have been inconsistent, but I’m healthy, I have good boards under my feet and I feel like I’m surfing at the highest level of my career.
“The draw is so gnarly these days – guys like Adriano (de Souza) and Dusty (Payne) are deadly at any venue on tour and that pretty much goes for the entire Top 34 right now. Really stoked to get a win and hope the waves keep pumping this week.”
Competing in the last heat of the day as the tide drained out and wave selection became more critical, Smith, 25, started slowly before finding a wave that ran the full length of the competition area, allowing him to deliver an electrifying series of manoeuvres that earned him 9.63, the day’s third highest single ride score.
Kelly Slater was also quick to get his feet firmly pressed into his wax, taking out his Round 1 heat with a win.
Electing to leave the water and run up the beach rather than wasting time with the long paddle back to the take-off spot, Smith found another good wave with two minutes remaining that the judges rewarded with an 8.30 which left his opponents needing near-perfect nine point rides as the hooter sounded to end the heat.
Matt Wilkinson (AUS), 24, caused the upset of the day, relegating the reigning ASP World Champion and local favourite Joel Parkinson (AUS), 31, to the elimination Round 2. Wilkinson’s backhand flow and flair was unmatched today as the Central Coast goofy-footer locked in the event high single wave score of a 9.93 out of a possible 10 en route to his Round 1 win.
“It feels good to post a win over someone like Joel (Parkinson),” Wilkinson said. “He obviously knows the banks here better than everyone, but I feel like I’ve been surfing well the last couple years – things just haven’t been going my way. I definitely feel like I surf stronger on my backhand and the waves lined up for me in that heat. Pumped to be through to Round 3 and hope to keep it pushin’.”
When competition resumes, up first will be Parkinson against event wildcard Brent Dorrington (AUS) in the opening heat of Round 2.
Event organizers will reconvene at 6:30am tomorrow to assess conditions for a possible 8am (midnight SA time) start. After three days of great waves, contest director Jake Paterson is confident that the contest will run again tomorrow.
The Roxy Pro Gold Coast presented by Land Rover, which is running in conjunction with the Quiksilver Pro Coast, has already reached the quarter-final stage. South African Bianca Buitendag, competing in her first ASP Women’s WCT event, will be up against ASP No. 2 Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) in third heat when the event resumes.
Highlights from the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast presented by Land Rover will be available via http://quiksilverlive.com/progoldcoast/2013/
QUIKSILVER PRO GOLD COAST ROUND 1 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 14.50, Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 12.70, Taj Burrow (AUS) 11.94
Heat 2: Travis Logie (ZAF) 18.20, Adriano de Souza (BRA) 17.10, Dusty Payne (HAW) 12.07
Heat 3: John John Florence (HAW) 15.00, Kai Otton (AUS) 14.80, Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 12.40
Heat 4: Mick Fanning (AUS) 17.24, Willian Cardoso (BRA) 14.57, Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 12.10
Heat 5: Kelly Slater (USA) 16.04, Kolohe Andino (USA) 15.73, Dane Reynolds (USA) 12.34
Heat 6: Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 17.76, Joel Parkinson (AUS) 17.73, Brent Dorrington (AUS) 15.37
Heat 7: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 15.67, Kieren Perrow (AUS) 14.97, Tiago Pires (PRT) 13.20
Heat 8: Alejo Muniz (BRA) 15.60, Nat Young (USA) 11.90, Josh Kerr (AUS) 10.13
Heat 9: Julian Wilson (AUS) 12.15, Adam Melling (AUS) 11.63, Damien Hobgood (USA) 11.40
Heat 10: Michel Bourez (PYF) 16.43, Owen Wright (AUS) 15.67, Filipe Toledo (BRA) 14.50
Heat 11: Brett Simpson (USA) 15.13, Jeremy Flores (FRA) 14.76, Adrian Buchan (AUS) 13.23
Heat 12: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 17.93, C.J. Hobgood (USA) 16.63, Glenn Hall (IRL) 15.07
QUIKSILVER PRO GOLD COAST ROUND 2 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Brent Dorrington (AUS)
Heat 2: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. Dane Reynolds (USA)
Heat 3: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Willian Cardoso (BRA)
Heat 4: Josh Kerr (AUS) vs. Patrick Gudauskas (USA)
Heat 5: Owen Wright (AUS) vs. Dusty Payne (HAW)
Heat 6: Jeremy Flores (FRA) vs. Raoni Monteiro (BRA)
Heat 7: C.J. Hobgood (USA) vs. Tiago Pires (PRT)
Heat 8: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Nat Young (USA)
Heat 9: Damien Hobgood (USA) vs. Adam Melling (AUS)
Heat 10: Kieren Perrow (AUS) vs. Filipe Toledo (BRA)
Heat 11: Kai Otton (AUS) vs. Glenn Hall (IRL)
Heat 12: Sebastian Zietz (HAW) vs. Kolohe Andino (USA)
ROXY PRO GOLD COAST QUARTERFINAL MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Tyler Wright (AUS) vs. Courtney Conlogue (USA)
Heat 2: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) vs. Alana Blanchard (HAW)
Heat 3: Bianca Buitendag (ZAF) vs. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS)
Heat 4: Carissa Moore (HAW) vs. Pauline Ado (FRA)
