Travis Logie climbs to No. 9 on ASP World Qualifying Series after runner-up finish in France
Pictured: Travis Logie clinched second place at the Sooruz Lacanau Pro in France on Sunday Photo: Aquashot / ASP Europe
Sooruz Lacanau Pro
ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) 6-Star Men’s Event
Lacanau Ocean – France
August 17-23, 2009
Travis Logie climbs to No. 9 on ASP World Qualifying Series after runner-up finish in France
Durbanite Travis Logie climbed from No. 12 to No. 9 on the ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) when he finished runner-up to French local Joan Duru, 20, in the final of the 6-Star rated, R1.1 million Sooruz Lacanau Pro at Lacanau Ocean on the Bay of Biscay coast of France on Sunday.
Competing in excellent 1 to 1.5 metre waves, Logie was on fire on the final day, defeating WQS No. 13 Austin Ware (USA) in their quarterfinal encounter with the event’s second highest heat total of 18.24 out of 20 before taking out No. 5 Patrick Gudauskas (USA) in the semis to reach the final.
Despite Logie briefly holding the lead, it was Duru who found the better waves in the final and his combination of vertical manoeuvres and confident tube-riding saw the Frenchman triumph with a tally of 16.47 to 15.30 to claim his maiden WQS event victory.
“I was very happy with the way I surfed and I just didn’t get any of the better waves during the final,” Logie said. “Joan (Duru) really surfed a smart heat and got the best waves and he had been surfing good all event so congratulations to him. It’s a great result and that requalification is always at the back of my mind.”
The result earned Logie US $10 000 (approx. R80 000) and 2 188 ratings points which replaced the 875 points for the lowest of his seven counting scores, boosting his chances of requalifying for the ASP World Tour, the top-tier of competitive surfing, where Logie was a fixture for four years, from 2005 to 2008, before failing to requalify at the end of last year.
He needs to maintain his position in the top 15 in the WQS through four more 6-Star and four 6-Star Prime rated events to automatically qualify for the 2010 ASP Dream Tour.
Logie was one of five South Africans to reach the last 48 at Lacanau, but the only one to advance to the last 24 when Rudy Palmboom Jnr. (Bluff) and Durbanites Brandon Jackson, Antonio Bortoletto and David Weare were eliminated by placing third or fourth in their respective four-man heats.
The next event on the WQS schedule is the inaugural Azores Island Pro, a 6-Star rated event in the islands off the coast of Portugal starting tomorrow (Tuesday) and running until Sunday 30 August.
SOORUZ LACANAU PRO FINAL
1st, Joan Duru (FRA), 16.47 pts
2nd, Travis Logie (ZAF), 15.30 pts
SOORUZ LACANAU PRO SEMIFINALS
Heat 1: Travis Logie (ZAF) 14.60 pts Def. Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 10.76 pts
Heat 2: Joan Duru (FRA) 11.17 pts Def. Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 10.03 pts
SOORUZ LACANAU PRO QUARTERFINALS
Heat 1: Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 15.43 pts Def. Leonardo Neves (BRA) 7.50 pts
Heat 2: Travis Logie (ZAF) 18.24 pts Def. Austin Ware (USA) 10.00 pts
Heat 3: Joan Duru (FRA) 13.24 pts Def. Brian Toth (PRI) 9.76 pts
Heat 4: Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 14.04 pts Def. Adam Melling (AUS) 11.66 pts
ASP World Qualifying Series ratings
(After Lacanau, event # 26 of 42)
1 Ross,Daniel AUS 14975
2 Andre,Jadson BRA 13350
3 Wright,Owen AUS 12838
4 Melling,Adam AUS 12801
5 Gudauskas,Patrick USA 12513
6 Wilkinson,Matt AUS 12150
7 Duru,Joan FRA 12050
8 Simpson,Brett USA 11863
9 Logie,Travis ZAF 11326
10 Thornton,Blake AUS 10826
South Africans (Top 150)
34 Jackson,Brandon ZAF 8238
48 Wright,Warwick ZAF 7069
49 Palmboom,Rudy ZAF 7001
74 Fahrenfort,Damien ZAF 6114
79 Redman,Daniel ZAF 5976
92 Basnett,Ricky ZAF 5276
126 Strachan,Klee ZAF 4406
For further information on the ASP Africa members, including profiles and rankings, visit www.aspafrica.com
Ends
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About ASP:
The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the governing body of professional surfing. Crowning surfing’s undisputed world champions since 1976, the ASP sanctions the following tours: the ASP World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, the World Qualifying Series (WQS) and the World Longboarding, Junior and Masters Championships. The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world’s best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America.
