Machado's the Man at US Open

Roll on Rob.

Powers' runner-up finish finds him rocketing from 86th to 26th on the WQS ratings, a move that will no doubt aid the young Hawaiian in his quest to re-qualify for the Foster's ASP Men's World Tour.

"I need this," Powers, currently struggling in his World Tour rookie season, said. "My rookie season hasn't been going so well. Hopefully this momentum goes my way in the upcoming qualifying events and maybe even on the World Tour."

Mike Losness (San Clemente, CA) punctuated his best ASP event to date with a third-place finish at the Honda U.S. Open. The flexible goofy-footer surfed incredibly well all event before succumbing to boyhood-hero Machado.

"A few rounds ago I was happy, so I'm just ecstatic now," Losness said of his finish. "I don't feel bad that I lost in that heat, there's something to be said about drawing really good guys in your heats because those are the guys you want to beat and those are the heats you want to surf."

Losness has concentrated on endeavors outside the competitive realm in recent years, but today's success may well inspire the 25-year-old to focus on elite-tour qualification.

"This was really big for me because I don't do the WQS - I do some of the events but I want to do more next year," Losness said. "Having a result like this will really put me up in the standings, so when I travel around the world to compete, I won't have to surf through the trials to get into the events. I've actually just entered a five-star in Portugal at the end of the month so who knows what will happen this year."