US champ proves longboard prowess

An outstanding Open Men's final of the Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour at Sandy Bay yesterday saw two of New Zealand's best longboarders face off against two of the world's top professional longboarders.
The Kiwi surfers, Ohope's Dylan Barnfield and Hawke's Bay's Michael Burling, both locked in long high-scoring waves early in the heat but it was Californian Taylor Jensen who took control of the final with a total heat score of 19.35 out of a possible 20.
Jensen demolished every wave he surfed, and showed why he has been United States champion three times. Australian Josh Constable made a late charge, surfing a perfect 10-point ride, linking a perfect hang 10 with a fins-free waft on the end section.
But even with his perfect 10, Constable was unable to catch Jensen in the final moments, and as the ocean went flat, the final hooter sounded on what has to be one of the closest finals in Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour history.
It was Jensen's second Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour victory, after he won the 2009 Christchurch event. Constable finished in second place, with Burling in third and Barnfield fourth.
The third day of the first event of the 2010 Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour kicked off in clean 0.5-metre to one-metre waves. With beautiful weather and a large crowd of spectators, this event showed that the Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour has arrived at the cutting edge of surfing in New Zealand.
With a mix of international and local talent, the women's final was a real crowd pleaser. Piha's Mischa Davis showed excellent wave choice to surf out of her skin in the final. Davis is a regular on the Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour and was the eventual runner-up to Christchurch's Daisy Thomas, with Australian's Nava Young and Claire Norman third and fourth respectively.
In the Junior Men's Division another Aussie, Jackson Winter, took first-place honours, with Gisborne's Charlie Brown taking second place, and Whakatane's Joseph Stewart and Matt Craig in third and fourth place.
Hawkes Bay's Brendan Young took a gamble in the final of the Over 40 Men's Longboard Division by paddling off to another peak for the heat, leaving the other competitors on the main peak. His gamble paid off and the veteran on the Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour scored some fantastic high-scoring waves to easily beat Lynden Kennings into second with Christchurch's Grant Cochrane third and Ocean Beach's Rupert Newbold in fourth.
It was a battle between the local surfers and the visitors in the Over 50's final. Raglan's Mike Thompson picked off some great waves  but Christchurch's Grant Cochrane was a strong contender from the outset and was a deserving winner. Whangarei's John Eyerton was a stand-out throughout the  event to finish third, while Newbold again placed fourth.
Dunedin's Shane Baxter held out the 2009 national runner-up Kennings from Whangamata by just 0.3 of a point to win the Stand Up Paddleboard Division.
Kennings surfed a solid final but it was Baxter who took  first place with a late charge and two solid scores in the bank.
The next 2010 Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour event is in Dunedin on February 20, 21.