Super Bowl of Surfing : Dana Point’s Mike Cruikshank Qualifies Last but Finishes First

Mike Cruikshank of Dana Point, who barely qualified as one of the eight surfers in the $10,000 Hussong’s Super Bowl of Surfing, won the $3,000 first prize Sunday at Huntington Beach pier.

Cruikshank upset top-seeded Todd Martin of Encinitas in the first round, beat fourth-seeded Richie Collins of Costa Mesa in the second round and beat second-seeded Brian McNulty of Capistrano Beach in a best-of-three final.

Cruikshank did not know until late Saturday, when the sixth and final event of the pro tour ended, that he would be included in the field of the top eight competitors on the U.S. pro surfing tour. If Andy Formenko had finished first or second in Saturday’s competition at Huntington Beach, he would have earned the last spot in the Super Bowl field. Formenko finished third.

The fog was so thick Sunday morning that the competition, which was scheduled to begin at 7 a.m., could not begin until 11 a.m. Because the day’s schedule had to be shortened, each man-on-man contest was cut from 30 minutes to 15 minutes, forcing surfers to adjust their strategies. Each surfer was required to ride three waves within that 15-minute period.

In the final round, against McNulty, Cruikshank won the first competition but lost the second when he was able to get only two waves. He came back to win the third and the tournament.

Waves averaged three to four feet throughout the day but were inconsistent.

Cruikshank, 28, has been surfing competitively since 1969.

McNulty won $1,750 for his second-place finish; Collins won $1,200 for third place, and Scott Daley of Santa Monica won $1,000 for fourth. Martin was out of the money in fifth place. Clete Hamilton of Carlsbad was sixth, Alan Sarlo of Marina del Rey was seventh and David Barr of Carlsbad was eighth.

Sunday’s event was the last on this season’s pro surfing circuit.