The third consecutive day at the Hurley Pro saw yet more small but clean one-to-three foot surf at Lower Trestles and, as is often the case when the conditions don’t cooperate, a couple of big upsets.

Kelly lost to injury wildcard Pat Gudang while Parko went down to Adam Melling. Patience and wave selection proving crucial to both upsets.

“I knew I had to play a smart game plan and I also just went for broke,” Gudauskas said. “To win that heat, I’m stoked because this result will really help my requalification chances. It’s so epic to have my friends down on the beach and thanks to everyone in San Clemente for coming down and watching.”

Local injury wildcard Pat Gudauskas eliminated Kelly in Round 3 yesterday. Credit: ASP/SCHOLTZ

Following Slater’s elimination (who now holds three bad results), Fanning took out a crucial heat victory over Alejo Muniz pushing himself back into the lead in the rankings.

“I was really nervous knowing the significance of that happening (Kelly’s loss),” Fanning said. “You do the best you can and I had a great heat with Alejo (Muniz). He’s surfed amazing these last few months and it was nerve-wracking in that heat. Getting through this round, you get another three-man heat and it’s a good time to get re-adjusted and focus on what’s next.”

With Taj, Mick, Julian, Jordy and Adriano all still in the mix, all pumped to make the most of the opportunity. Julian Wilson witnessed a close call against Filipe Toledo in Round 3, punting a giant backhand rotation in the dying minutes of their tightly-fought match-up to take the win.

“When I saw the heat draw, I felt like that was the hardest draw I could have today because of the conditions,” Wilson said. “At the same time, I want to be the best, I want to beat the best guys, and Filipe (Toledo) is so strong in those conditions. I knew it was going to take a lot. I just couldn’t get anything going on the rights and looked to the lefts and was able to get a bit of rhythm going and build some scores. I was really happy to win that heat and Filipe put up a really good challenge. I got that score I was chasing the whole heat to get in front of him at the end and I just didn’t give up.”

Wilson would go on to build on his Round 3 performance, launching yet more aerial attacks on the Lowers rights in his Round 4 bout, posting the day’s highest scores for a near-perfect 19.07 heat total.

HURLEY PRO AT TRESTLES ROUND 3 RESULTS:

Heat 1: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 17.00 def. Brett Simpson (USA) 15.87
Heat 2: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 15.30 def. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 14.87
Heat 3: Taj Burrow (AUS) 16.20 def. Kolohe Andino (USA) 14.67
Heat 4: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 16.00 def. Fred Patacchia (HAW) 9.43
Heat 5: Kai Otton (AUS) 15.17 def. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 14.07
Heat 6: Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 15.57 def. Kelly Slater (USA) 14.80
Heat 7: Mick Fanning (AUS) 15.17 def. Alejo Muniz (BRA) 14.87
Heat 8: Michel Bourez (PYF) 13.94 def. Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 13.80
Heat 9: Josh Kerr (AUS) 14.67 def. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 11.93
Heat 10: Travis Logie (ZAF) 14.47 def. Nat Young (USA) 11.73
Heat 11: Julian Wilson (AUS) 17.03 def. Filipe Toledo (BRA) 16.07
Heat 12: Adam Melling (AUS) 14.67 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 10.06

HURLEY PRO AT TRESTLES ROUND 4 RESULTS:

Heat 1: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.60, C.J. Hobgood (USA) 15.33, Taj Burrow (AUS) 13.23
Heat 2: Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 15.23, Adriano de Souza (BRA) 13.40, Kai Otton (AUS) 13.03
Heat 3: Michel Bourez (PYF) 17.30, Mick Fanning (AUS) 16.80, Josh Kerr (AUS) 12.93
Heat 4: Julian Wilson (AUS) 19.07, Adam Melling (AUS) 14.03, Travis Logie (ZAF) 12.67

UPCOMING HURLEY PRO AT TRESTLES ROUND 5 MATCH UPS:

Heat 1: C.J. Hobgood (USA) vs. Kai Otton (AUS)
Heat 2: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. Taj Burrow (AUS)
Heat 3: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Travis Logie (ZAF)
Heat 4: Adam Melling (AUS) vs. Josh Kerr (AUS)