Poor Surf Conditions Don’t Deter Christian

Julia Christian earned the biggest victory of her career Saturday at the Honda U.S. Open of Surfing. Rebecca Woods suffered her worst loss.

Christian, a 23-year-old from Carlsbad, won the women’s title alongside the Huntington Beach pier, putting her in excellent position to re-qualify for the World Championship Tour next season.

“Last week I was sick with the flu and I’m just coming back strong,” she said. “I’m really light right now and I think that made the difference in the small waves.”

Woods, on the other hand, must have felt anchored to the ocean floor after sitting through the 30-minute final without catching a wave, marking the first time a competitor has been shut out in a U.S. Open final.

“It’s a bit disappointing,” said Woods, a 20-year-old Australian. “Making that final and then not even standing up on a wave.”

Both surfers went the first eight minutes without catching a wave and, with 10 minutes remaining, Christian had only produced wave scores of 2.67 and 1.50 out of a possible 10. But with eight minutes left, Christian connected on a right-hander and rode it nearly to the shore, earning a score of 7.33. With the two best wave scores making up the final total, Christian was able to pad her lead by scoring a 4.50 with about five minutes remaining.

“You try to be optimistic,” Woods said. “I’ve never been in that situation where you can’t actually stand up. That was a new experience, but I’m not sure what else I could have done. If I came in and sat on the shore, I don’t think that would have helped.”

For a spell, Christian thought she might not catch a wave either.

“I thought, ‘This is ridiculous.’ ” she said. “But then I got some waves and was able to connect on one all the way to the beach and that made the difference.”

Christian’s only other victory as a professional came in 2002 at the Turtle Bay Resort Women’s Pro on the North Shore of Oahu. That win propelled her up the World Qualifying Series rankings and onto the WCT, where she became the only mainland American on the tour. Even though she failed to qualify the last two years, she didn’t give up hope and neither did her supporters.

“I’m just feeling really comfortable right now,” Christian said. “My sponsors are supporting me and I have my boyfriend [Magoo De La Rosa], who is also my coach.”

In the men’s longboard final, Joel Tudor of La Jolla won his eighth U.S. Open title. Tudor totaled 17.84 points to defeat Colin McPhillips of San Clemente (15.67).

The men’s short-board competition was whittled down to the final 12 competitors, a mix of seasoned veterans and up-and-coming professionals.

Rob Machado, a 31-year-old former U.S. Open champion from Cardiff, won two heats Saturday. He equaled the best wave score of the contest when he earned a 9.17 out of a possible 10 in the round of 48. Nathaniel Curran of Oxnard and Brett Simpson of Huntington Beach, both 20, were also heat winners.

Of the 30 WCT members who entered the event, only three-time defending champion Andy Irons of Hawaii, Travis Logie and South Africa and Marcelo Nunes of Brazil remain in competition.

Adrian Buchan of Australia, who came into the event ranked No. 1 on the WQS, No. 3 Adriano de Souza of Brazil, No. 6 David Weare of South Africa and No. 16 Russell Winter of England also advanced, boosting their hopes of qualifying for the WCT.