It seems that at Snapper Rocks, Australia, the home advantage is a powerful factor; just like the women's ASP event, the first event of the 2007 men's ASP World Tour has gone to a local surfing hero. Mick Fanning (AUS) won the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast presented by Samsung at his home break of Snapper Rocks for the second time in three years.
Beating fellow local and unsponsored surfer Bede Durbidge (AUS) in barrelling 1.5 to 2 metre (5 to 6 foot ) waves, Fanning slotted himself into a series of deep barrels and executed some of his patented searing turns to emerge from the water victorious much to the delight of the 10,000 plus strong crowd.
Many of the top names were slow to show their form and rookies and wild cards played havoc in the Snapper Rocks surf, leaving many champion surfers in the lower half of the rankings table. Men's rankings after one event are:
1 Mick Fanning(AUS) 1200 points
2 Bede Durbidge(AUS) 1032 points
3 Kelly Slater(USA) 876 points
3 Taj Burrow(AUS) 876 points
5 Joel Parkinson(AUS) 732 points
5 Michael Campbell(AUS) 732 points
The Foster's ASP World Tour will now head south to the colder waters of Bells Beach for the Rip Curl Pro, which will kick off April 3, 2007.
Labels: 2007, ASP World Tour, Australia, Durbidge, Fanning, Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast, result, Snapper Rocks, winner
