Brett Simpson is in control at the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing
Huntington Beach surfer Brett Simpson, who is striving to qualify for the ASP World Tour, posted the highest wave score today in 4- to 6-foot waves while advancing beyond the third round of the Reef Hawaiian Pro at Haleiwa on Oahu's North Shore.
Simpson, 23, registered a wave score of 9.9 out of a possible 10 en route to winning a four-man heat that included Fred Patacchia, who is ranked No. 11 in the world.
The Hawaiian Pro is the first jewel of the prestigious Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, and one of two remaining six-star World Qualifying Series tour contests.
Simpson is ranked No. 27 on the WQS and needs to crack the top 15 in order to become a rookie on the World Tour.
"There are really good waves out there and it’s just a matter of getting them," said Simpson, whose heat score in the best-two-waves format was 15.26. "Hopefully I’ll keep starting off with a little bang. I got one of the better ones and you can’t really ask for more."
Simpson, who compared the right-handed break to Lower Trestles in San Clemente, reached the final of the Hawaiian Pro in 2006.
-- Pete Thomas
Photo: Brett Simpson bashes the lip of a right-hander at Haleiwa en route to a third-round heat triumph. Credit: ASP Rowland/Vans Triple Crown
