Aussie is awesome at U.S. Open of Surfing

Mike Sciacca

Although Pat O’Connell felt he hadn’t reached his potential at the

Honda U.S. Open of Surfing presented by O’Neill, the Laguna Beach

athlete’s performance at the Huntington Beach Pier last weekend was

more than enough to turn some heads.

O’Connell was impressive in riding his way into the men’s

quarterfinal round, where his bid to win his first U.S. Open title

ended.

The men’s winner was Australian Taj Burrow, whose score on a

last-minute wave Sunday catapulted him from third place to his first

U.S. Open victory.

“Huntington Beach, man, you gotta love it,” said a soaking wet and

obviously elated Taj Burrow, as he emerged from the water, moments

after winning the event.

Burrow finished second to winter Cory Lopez of Florida in last

year’s men’s final.Lopez was third, overall, in Sunday’s final.

Burrow and Lopez were trailing front-runner Trent Munro of

Australia in the waning moments of a 30-minute heat fought out in

front of an estimated record crowd of 100,000 at the Huntington Beach

Pier.

But Burrow, who hails from western Australia, was the lone rider

on the last big break of the heat, and his score of 7.03 in the final

minutes was enough to catapult him past fellow Aussie Munro into

first place.

“I tell ya, mate, this is pretty awesome,” said Burrow, suddenly

surrounded by a media blitz that included television and newspaper

reporters from around the world. “It was anybody’s game and that last

wave was just enough to get me to the top.

“I was second last year, so to go one up and win the title this

year feels fantastic. This is one of the biggest contests in the

world, and it feels pretty good right now.”

He won $15,000 for his first-place finish.

Munro finished second, Lopez placed third and Hawaii’s Frederick

Patacchia, who was making his first appearance in a men’s final,

finished in fourth-place.

The U.S. Open men’s division started last Saturday with 272

competitors and more than 100 alternates.

O’Connell blazed his way into the Round of 32 with solid surfing.

The 32-year-old had defeated eventual finalist Munro, 13.67 points

to 12.50, in a heat July 30.

“It seemed like the smaller waves were better shaped,” O’Connell

said. “The large waves were really hard to ride.”

In the Round of 32, O’Connell finished second in a heat won by

Munro.

O’Connell finished ahead of third-place Mark Occhilupo of

Australia, who was inducted July 30 into the Surfers’ Hall of Fame,

and fourth-place Shane Beschen of San Clemente.

“Honestly, I felt I hadn’t surfed to my potential during the U.S.

Open,” O’Connell said. “I never felt that I really linked into a

heat. I talked to Taj just before he paddled out for the final, and

he also said he felt he hadn’t surfed to his potential, either.

“You just have to hang in there, and Taj came up with the wave

score when it counted most.”

Laguna’s Bron Heussenstamm had emerged through four heats in a

two-day period to reach the men’s Round of 96.

Mike Todd, also of Laguna, was eliminated from title contention on

July 28.

Sunday’s surfing finals capped a nine-day stretch of the Bank of

the West Beach Games at the pier that drew more than 600 world class

athletes and featured competition in skateboarding, BMX riding, men’s

and women’s volleyball and freestyle motocross demonstrations.