US Open surf winner

ASP World Qualifying Series closes with a bang

The 2009 Hurley US Open surfing contest concluded at the weekend at Huntington Beach, California, with Brett Simpson finishing in first place, much to the delight of the crowds of fans gathered to watch the event.

Simpson (24), a native of Huntington Beach, beat out Australian surfer Mick Channing (28), the winner of the 2007 ASC World Championship. Simpson’s victory afforded him a cash prize as well as 2,500 ratings points to add to his campaign to qualify for the 2010 ASP World Tour—the holy grail of competitive surfing. Simpson commented on the importance of this victory in his career, saying “It hasn’t sunk in yet. I’m just stoked. It’s my best result ever. It’s so important to my qualifying campaign and such a huge boost of confidence to me. My goal has always been to compete on the World Tour and I’m definitely focused on finishing the season strong.”

In addition to the excitement of the hometown surfer’s victory, this year’s World-Qualifying Series boasted challenging swells of up to 2m as well as a $100,000 prize for the winner of the competition, making it the largest prize to date. The competition also featured a wide range of talent across the board in the categories of men, women, and pro juniors, with native Californian Courtney Conlogue (15) winning in the Hurley US Open women’s division and Malia Manuel and Kai Barger, both of Hawaii, taking the US Open Nike 6.0 Pro Junior men’s and women’s titles (respectively).

For heat results, pictures, and video coverage from the 2009 Hurley US Open, visit http://www.usopenofsurfing.com/site6.aspx