Hobgood wins U.S. Open men’s title, Gilmore grabs women’s trophy

The surf didn’t cooperate but fickle conditions could do little to take away the joy felt by the winners at this past weekend’s Honda U.S. Open of Surfing presented by O’Neill and Beach Festival at the Huntington Beach Pier.

The 10-day event, which concluded Sunday, culminated with C.J. Hobgood of Florida winning the U.S. Open of Men’s title. His win capped a Sunday finals schedule that saw two other winners emerge: Tonino Benson of Hawaii edged out Chris Waring of Seal Beach to win the Lost Pro Junior title, and Colin McPhillips of San Clemente led from start to finish to take the U.S. of Longboarding trophy.

“It’s an awesome feeling to win this competition at Huntington,” Hobgood said. “I’ve been in this thing for the past decade and it feels great to win the title.”

On Saturday, a “friendly” final took place at the pier as pals Stephanie Gilmore and Karina Petroni battled for the U.S. open of Women’s title. It was the Aussie Gilmore who defeated Floridian Petroni to win her first open crown.