TANNER GUDAUSKAS QUALIFIES FOR THE WCT

Sunset is the beach of brotherly love. At least today it was. For the first time in ASP history, three brothers ended up going head to head to head

For Pat the eldest twin in the Gudauskas clan, his goal of Dream Tour qualification was already set in stone. Younger twin Dane was out of contention, while little bro Tanner sat one heat away from popping the bubble. The only thing standing in his way were his smiling brothers, local Mason Ho and an out-of-control Sunset beach playing field.

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PAT GUDAUSKAS INTERVIEW

What a difference a year makes. This time last yea,r World Qualifying Series (WQS) stalwart Patrick Gudauskas was on the outside looking in, finishing 17th in 2008, barely missing the cut to qualify for the ASP World Championship Tour (WCT).

Equally frustrating was the fact Gudauskas led the WQS ratings for the majority of the year, and eventually slid out of the top 15 which qualify for the WCT.

Although he never led the WQS ratings in 2009, Gudauskas has displayed better consistency that has him firmly entrenched in the top five, his fourth year on “The Grind.” In fact, he’s already qualified for the “Dream Tour” in 2010, solidifying his spot with a second place finish in the Local Motion Guaruja Surf Pro in Brazil in October and a third in the Islas Canarias Santa Pro in the Canary Islands in November

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TANNER GUDAUSKAS WINS MR PRICE PRO BALLITO.

As clichéd as is sounds, Tanner Gudauskas was in fact born on the Fourth of July. The San Clement frother turned 21 this year, and to celebrate, he won the QS 6-Star Mr Price Pro Ballito on July 5th, making it a damn good start to the year. He took down Aussie James Taipan Wood, rocketing to No. 6 on the WQS and pocketing R159 000 US $20,000.

"I just can't believe it, this is a personal best for me!" said Gudauskas. "Every night this week I've been going to bed dreaming about winning this contest and putting myself up there where Pat was at, and it came through today so I'm fired up!"

Attacking the 30-minute final with unprecedented determination, Gudauskas rode every lump of swell, snatching an early heat lead with a 6.83 for some clean backhand turns, riding out in an explosion of whitewater off his final maneuver.

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Pat Gudauskas Finishes Third at ASP WQS 6-Star Sooruz Lacanau Pro.

San Clemente standout Patrick Gudauskas (San Clemente, CA), 23, earned a third place finish at the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Qualifying Series (WQS) 6-Star Sooruz Lacanau Pro in Lacanau, France this past week, bumping him up to fifth overall on the ASP WQS, significantly helping his cause towards qualification towards next year’s ASP World Tour.

Gudauskas, who is currently the highest rated American on The Grind, was in top form throughout out the event’s entirety, taking down and international field of big names including former ASP World Tour surfer Leonardo Neves (Rio De Janeiro, BRA), 29, Australian talent Yadin Nicol (Margaret River, AUS), 22, and current ASP WQS No. 3 Owen Wright (Cullburra, AUS), 19, before falling to Sooruz Lacanau Pro runner-up and former ASP World Tour campaigner Travis Logie (Dairy Beach, ZAF), 30.

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UNDERDOGS DAY

There were bags of upsets on the final day of competition at the Billabong World Junior Championship at North Narrabeen on Sydneyvs Northern Beaches. Firstly, it was the Narrabeen locals faced with the prospect of watching (and not surfing) another day of super-fun waves. Followed closely was the winner of the Von Zipper trials and hot favourite Julian Wilson going down to a busy Tahitian Tamaroa McComb in Round Four.

The day's early morning damage had the underdogs licking their lips and big name team managers milling around in the VIP stand shocked to the core. The body count of favourites had been piling up since Round Three, where almost Triple Crown winner Dusty Payne and Australia's great white hope Owen Wright had stumbled into the abyss. But as tears were wiped away in the car park by the losers, their posse's attention turned to those still in the running.

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Pat G Flips Out

Raising the bar. That’s the idea behind competitive professional surfing, but all too often it seems contests serve as forums for conservatism and strategy. San Clemente’s Pat Gudauskas shelved that idea a few days ago by successfully completing what many believe to be the first Rodeo Clown ever in an ASP event, The Sri Lankan Airlines Maldives Pro.

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Patrick Gudauskas advances into the Round of 24 in Maldives

Patrick Gudauskas (San Clemente, CA), 23, and former ASP World Tour Surfer Cory Lopez (Dana Point, CA), 32, are the only Orange County surfers remaining in the ASP 6-Star PRIME SriLanken Airlines Pro which is held at the roping lefthander of Pasta Point in the Maldives.

Gudauskas continued to lead the international field once again when he blasted a solid 16.60 out of 20 heat total on his backhand to advance to the Round of 24 to claim his Round of 48 heat win over Lopez, who advanced in second, while eliminating Hawaiians Makuakai Rothman and Casey Brown from competition.

Gudauskas will face current ASP World Tour campaigner Aritz Aranburu (EUK), 24, and former ASP World Tour surfer Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA), 35, when competition resumes.

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