Tommy Curren keeps the champ on his toes at Lowers

Dane Reynolds boosted, but it wasn't enough in Round 1

“I got juiced.”

Andy Irons is so stoked after winning his heat, and surviving the old school, the onslaught of a HEAVY SHREDDING Tommy Curren—if only with the help of his friends (the ASP judges).

He’s laughing.

“Hey, they gave Kelly a 9 for doing a ‘wheelie’, so they had to give me an 8. Plus, they always work the wildcards.”

He’s being modest about his wave—with a massive, spray-checker layback HACK—to can Curren and Jake Patterson. But of course he is, after what Tommy just did to Lowers on a two-pound epoxy, double stringer, diamond tail cut by mysto Euro master shaper JP Stark. “He’s awesome,” admits our current world champ. “Such an inspiration but…man, he was serous out there, staring me down, going all ’80s on us. I’m paddling back out and he aimed one of his layback snaps right at me (laughs)—I thought, ‘There goes my Achilles tendon.’ I was scared.”

Now, everyone pray for Mr. TC to advance past tomorrow’s double elimination, and let’s see him turn it on when the predicted SWELL cracks for the final days.

Whoever makes that day should have plenty of motivation: Kelly Slater, ‘wheelie’ airs and all, is ripping hot, tuned on a quiver of five new, identical Simon Anderson rounded pins plus four fresh-out-of-the-lab Merricks (including one with a concave deck!), aiming direct at the heart of a seventh world title. And Andy is able to bag on his airs? Imagine how nutz you’d better be to do that! Both of ‘em, today, calculated and cruising into warm-up form, still shralped deeper than just about everybody.

Mick Fanning having a bit 'o fun in Round 1

“I’m just out there for a bit of fun.”

That’s Mick Fanning; let’s not forget him. Miniscule is his chance at a ’05 world title, since the Kelly/Andy show of Japan, but, then, the underdog thing has been his driving force season long. Loose is a strange word to describe him—cut like a rotisserie chicken, fast like a snapped rubber band—on choppy, tricky small rights this afternoon, he’s the loosest of the bunch. Usual flow tech, Joel Parkinson, is sidelined back in Cooly with a wracked knee, so, possibly, Fanning is going to fill in for his mate, and become the most lethal combo to date.

Dane Reynolds could also tear it all apart. Into the loser’s round he goes, spanked by big power hunk, Taylor Knox, should he pull a few of the ‘almosts’ of this afternoon (read: POWER slides) and things will get freaky. Oh, and don’t take those sights off of old Mr. Mark Occhilupo, either—he’s got the filthiest FAST horizontal invert in the business. And, Taj Burrow is going to launch to the moon. That is, if he’s not converted to the old school. Old Tommy Curren might have a brand new bag.

ROUND 1 RESULTS:
(1st place advances to Round 3; 2nd & 3rd go to Round 2)

Heat # 1: 1st - Shane Beschen, 2nd - Dean Morrison, 3rd Marcelo Nunes
Heat # 2: 1st - Cory Lopez, 2nd - Tim Curran, 3rd - Michael Lowe
Heat # 3: 1st - Travis Logie, 2nd - Shea Lopez, 3rd - Nathan Hedge
Heat # 4: 1st - Phil MacDonald, 2nd - Troy Brooks, 3rd - Renan Rocha
Heat # 5: 1st - Kirk Flintoff, 2nd - CJ Hobgood, 3rd - Richie Lovett
Heat # 6: 1st - Taj Burrow, 2nd - Guilherme Herdy, 3rd - Peterson Rosa
Heat # 7: 1st - Taylor Knox, 2nd - Trent Munro, 3rd - Dane Reynolds
Heat # 8: 1st - Kelly Slater, 2nd - Mike Losness, 3rd - Mark Occhilupo
Heat # 9: 1st - Andy Irons, 2nd - Jake Paterson, 3rd - Tom Curren
Heat #10: 1st - Mick Fanning, 2nd - Darren O'Rafferty, 3rd - Ian Walsh
Heat #11: 1st - Paulo Moura, 2nd - Luke Stedman, 3rd - Bruce Irons
Heat #12: 1st - Kalani Robb, 2nd - Damien Hobgood, 3rd - Bede Durbidge
Heat #13: 1st - Tim Reyes, 2nd - Tom Whitaker, 3rd - Chris Ward
Heat #14: 1st - Lee Winkler, 2nd - Danny Wills, 3rd - Greg Emslie
Heat #15: 1st - Sunny Garcia, 2nd - Luke Egan, 3rd - Toby Martin
Heat #16: 1st - Fred Patacchia, 2nd - Raoni Monteiro, 3rd - Victor Ribas

UPCOMING ROUND 2 HEATS:
(1st place advances to Round 3; 2nd finishes =33rd)

Heat # 1: Trent Munro v. Mike Losness
Heat # 2: CJ Hobgood v. Tom Curren
Heat # 3: Nathan Hedge v. Ian Walsh
Heat # 4: Dean Morrison v. Dane Reynolds
Heat # 5: Bruce Irons v. Guilherme Herdy
Heat # 6: Damien Hobgood v. Renan Rocha
Heat # 7: Tom Whitaker v. Shea Lopez
Heat # 8: Danny Wills v. Tim Curran
Heat # 9: Luke Egan v. Luke Stedman
Heat #10: Mark Occhilupo v. Greg Emslie
Heat #11: Jake Paterson v. Toby Martin
Heat #12: Darren O'Rafferty v. Victor Ribas
Heat #13: Peterson Rosa v. Raoni Monteiro
Heat #14: Richie Lovett v. Chris Ward
Heat #15: Troy Brooks v. Bede Durbidge
Heat #16: Michael Lowe v. Marcelo Nunes

2005 Trestles Boost Mobile Pro Photo Gallery Photos from the 2005 WCT event # 8 of 12, held at Lower Trestles in Southern California, September 13 - 18, 2005				Boost Mobile Pro: Can YOU Correctly Name The Finalists? SURFING has a handful of official Boost Mobile Pro gear. We're giving it away to whoever can correctly guess the two finalists names first!

 

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