Lots of action with big-name pros at U.S. Open

Kelly Slater gets the air but not the landing while still winning his heat Wednesday to advance.

Kelly Slater had no trouble advancing in his heat this afternoon, but getting from the ocean up the sand wasn’t the easiest task as crowds gravitated toward the waterline as he came onto the sand. Slater, 38, scored a total heat score of 13.54 during his heat, keeping him in the game at the U.S. Open of Surfing.

Crowds broke out their cameras and surrounded the nine-time world champ as he stopped to sign autographs on his first day at the contest.

Slater said he will likely be getting a wider board for the rest of the contest to adapt to the smaller waves expected, especially the next few days.

Slater – who just flew in from a surf trip in Costa Rica – said his best memory from the years here is being a kid surfing with Rob Machado and Sunny Garcia.

“To me, that was larger than life,” he said. “There’s a lot of long history here for a lot of guys.”

Speaking of those guys – Machado made it through his heat, but former world champ Garcia came in last and was knocked out.

Current world champion Mick Fanning – who came in second place here last year against Brett Simpson – barely made it through his heat, and even as he came out of the water didn’t know if another surfer had passed his score.

“I guess sometimes you get close once in a while,” he said.

Despite the surf being a lot – A LOT – smaller than last year, Fanning said they were still fun.

“Last year we had lots of swell, but there’s still lots of waves, it’s still contestable,” he said.

Earlier in the day, San Clemente’s Nate Yeomans put on a good performance this morning, working hard to get the points.

He caught back-to-backs, slashing and floating his way through waves to earn points. In a heat against three-time world champ Andy Irons and 2003 U.S. Open of Surfing champ Cory Lopez, you can’t take any chances.

“It was kind of a lot of work and a lot of nerves, because those are guys I looked up to growing up,” said the 28-year-old surfer. “It was a good heat, and I made it through, so on to the next one.”

Yeomans said surfing a contest in Huntington is great, because he has his whole family here cheering him on – but it comes down to the waves.

The waves are better than they were forecast to be, with some solid sets for surfers to work with.

Yeomans strategy was to catch a lot of waves and build scores – not to be stuck at the end scrambling.

Yeomans earned an early 6.60 for a solid wave with three strong turns off the top, a floater, and shoots the pier.

“Talk about having to have peripheral vision, you’re timing has to be impeccable,” said announcer Dave Stanfield.

Yeomans needs the points offered at the U.S. Open of Surfing – a 6-star PRIME event – in case he gets knocked off the World Tour at a mid-year cut to try to re-qualify next year. He sits in the 40th spot with only one contest left. His best result so far on the tour was 17th at Jeffreys Bay.

Lopez, a former Dana Point resident who now lives in Florida, got one good score to propel him to the top spot.

“That’s what got me through the heat,” he said. “I’m hoping to just keep going, surf well and give it all I got.”

Three-time world champ Andy Irons had a rough one and was eliminated after being unable to get any solid scores on the board.

“Unlucky for him, he didn’t get any waves,” Lopez said. “That’s just the way it goes sometimes.”

Stand-out Florida surfer Evan Geiselman – number one in the pro junior rankings – had no problem getting waves, getting a solid score early in his heat. Still, having World Tour surfer C.J. Hobgood – who he looks up to because they are from the same state – in his heat wasn’t good for the nerves.

“I was still pretty nervous going out there,” he said. “It was probably the biggest heat of my life, I was pretty stoked to see him in my draw.”

But by the end of it, Geiselman was doing what he does best – busting big airs and giving the crowd something to get excited about.

“It’s like a stadium crowd, so I was just trying to put on a show,” he said. “When I did that air, it felt so good, I just heard everyone on the pier roaring.”

Geiselman shows that the U.S. Open is anyone’s game – C.J Hobgood was knocked out of that heat, barely missing the score he needed by .30 points.

Starting up today’s action at 7:30 a.m. was current World Tour leader Jordy Smith, who just took home a win at J-bay. Smith is known for his wild style, and in his heat this morning did a few aerials to wake up the crowd. He came in second during his heat after getting a pair of 6.33’s for a heat score of 12.66. Kiron Jabour of Hawaii was the heat leader with a score of 12.80.

World Tour leader Jordy Smith has time for a fan after his morning heat at the U.S. Open of Surfing.

San Clemente surfer Tanner Gudauskas barely advanced in his heat, but in the same match Capo Beach’s Luke Davis was knocked out in the main Men’s event. He still has a chance at the Juniors.

CATCH UP ON THE ACTION:

Overwhelmed by the U.S. Open of Surfing? Check out our guide that breaks down the basics here.

See what O.C.’s World Tour surfers say they miss most when away from home, and read their thoughts on U.S. Open of Surfing.

Also don’t miss this Q & A with Bob Hurley on his thoughts of this year’s contest

SLIDESHOWS and LIVE COVERAGE:

Day 1: Check out scene and some of the early surf shots

Day 2: Check out juniors heat up and how insane the crowds got

Day 3: U.S Champ Conlogue taken out

Day 4: O.C surfers struggle first day of men’s heat; and Cold War Kids and crowds

A few other feature stories through the week:

Check out a story on announcer Rockin’ Fig, who is being honored at the Surfing Walk of Fame. See all the surfers to be honored during Walk and Hall of Fame here.

Meanwhile, while all the big-name surfers are in town, they gave huge at the Pipeline to a Cure event – $450,000 to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. See what famous surfers and musicians showed up.

Save this link as your favorites and follow the U.S. Open through the week:

Enter your photos from the U.S. Open of Surfing for a chance to win a new Timmy Patterson surfboard. Log in at orangecounty.com/photo, set up a profile and put in your snaps from the week. After the contest ends, a team of judges will pick their favorites.