Quiksilver Pro - Japan, 2003
"The first heat I surfed was a joke," reasoned Parkinson after his win. "I only had 3-points for my total score, and compared to the surf we just had... there were perfect little righthanders then. I just tried to give it 100 percent. He surfed well, but I was luckily enough to get a good set wave."
World #3 Luke Egan and fellow Gold Coaster and 1999 world champ Mark Occhilupo also survived their round two clashes over Japanese wildcards this afternoon. Egan accounted for Teppei Tajima, while 36-year-old Occhilupo disposed of Quiksilver Trials winner Norimasa Ohno in what proved a good, yet inconsistent match.
"'Nori' is the best Japanese guy I've seen by far," offered Occhilupo, of his opponent. "I believe he'll be the first one to make the WCT, so when I drew him in that heat I was a bit worried since I've had a bad run lately. It was a good heat for me to win. I felt like I made a couple of little mistakes, but I also think I surfed well and didn't hold back. It was a bit of a nerve-wracking heat.
"It's great to be back in Japan," he added. "I haven't been to Niijima for 15-years and last time I was I made the final against Martin Potter (UK). That was a while ago, but it's really good to be back. I love it."
Organizers have called a 5:30am (local time) meet tomorrow morning at the main site, though plan to resume round two heats at 6:30am back at 'Secret Point.' Conditions pending, all of round three will also be completed. Due to the remote location, live webcasting and scores will not be available, but a detailed release will be posted following the completion of the day's surfing action.
Official
Niijima Quiksilver Pro Round One Heats
H1: Dean Morrison (Aus) 12.75; Luke Stedman (Aus) 8.0; Masakazu Kono (Jpn)
2.85
H2: Tim Curran (USA) 14.75; Guilherme Herdy (Brz) 7.5; Luke Egan (Aus) 6.0
H3: Ben Bourgeois (USA) 16.15; CJ Hobgood (USA) 13.25; Michael Campbell (Aus)
13.0
H4: Paulo Moura (Brz) 13.5; Cory Lopez (USA) 10.25; Naohisa Ogawa (Jpn) 9.1
H5: Kelly Slater (USA) 10.75; Peterson Rosa (Brz) 10.4; Norimasa Ohno (Jpn)
10.0
H6: Masatoshi Ohno (Jpn) 13.75; Neco Padaratz (Brz) 10.9; Taj Burrow (Aus)
9.95
H7: Kieren Perrow (Aus) 14.0; Teppei Tajima (Jpn) 8.0; Shane Powell (Aus) 7.8
H8: Andy Irons (Haw) 14.4; Pat O'Connell (USA) 12.6; Masaki Harada (Jpn) 10.5
H9: Jake Paterson (Aus) 13.0; Tetsuya Urayama (Jpn) 7.1; Joel Parkinson (Aus)
3.0
H10: Mick Fanning (Aus) 14.5; Nathan Hedge (Aus) 10.75; Kenta Hayashi (Jpn)
9.05
H11: Luke Hitchings (Aus) 13.0; Mark Occhilupo (Aus) 10.25; Tom Whitaker (Aus)
7.7
H12: Michael Lowe (Aus) 11.5; Trent Munro (Aus) 10.1; Beau Emerton (Aus) 9.6
H13: Phil MacDonald (Aus) 12.25; Fabio Gouveia (Brz) 11.9; Kalani Robb (Haw)
11.4
H14: Darren O'Rafferty (Aus) 13.5; Nathan Webster (Aus) 12.6; Damien Hobgood
(USA) 12.35
H15: Armando Daltro (Brz) 11.75; Daniel Wills (Aus) 9.75; Lee Winkler (Aus)
8.0
H16: Chris Davidson (Aus) 14.25; Victor Ribas (Brz) 9.75; Taylor Knox (USA)
8.85
Round
Two
H1: Joel Parkinson (Aus) 14.9 def. Masakazu Kono (Jpn) 10.33
H2: Taj Burrow (Aus) 16.4 def. Masaki Harada (Jpn) 9.0
H3: Cory Lopez (USA) 15.0 def. Tetsuya Urayama (Jpn) 12.0
H4: CJ Hobgood (USA) 14.17 def. Kenta Hayashi (Jpn) 7.07
H5: Luke Egan (Aus) 15.16 def. Teppei Tajima (Jpn) 11.0
H6: Mark Occhilupo (Aus) 14.1 def. Norimasa Ohno (Jpn) 11.33
H7: Kalani Robb (Aus) 14.5 def. Naohisa Ogawa (Jpn) 11.3
H8: Damien Hobgood (USA) 15.43 def. Luke Stedman (Aus) 11.23
Upcoming
round two heats of the Niijima Quiksilver Pro
H9: Daniel Wills (Aus) vs. Tom Whittaker (Aus)
H10: Taylor Knox (USA) vs. Beau Emerton (Aus)
H11: Pat O'Connell (USA) vs. Fabio Gouveia (Brz)
H12: Nathan Hedge (Aus) vs. Nathan Webster (Aus)
H13: Shane Powell (Aus) vs. Victor Ribas (Brz)
H14: Neco Padaratz (Aus) vs. Lee Winkler (Aus)
H15: Peterson Rosa (Brz) vs. Trent Munro (Aus)
H16: Michael Campbell (Aus) vs. Guilherme Herdy (Brz)
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