John John Florence Leads The Charge Into Quarterfinals At 15-Foot Sunset Beach
Big and unruly, the kind of conditions where grit and a little good luck translate into success, day two of the Hurley Pro Sunset Beach was hardly a cakewalk. And there, leading the charge, was two-time world champ John John Florence. On the opening day of the contest he dropped the highest score of the round, and came back in the Round of 16 to do the same thing. Outscoring the field both days, Florence is the clear-cut favorite at Sunset right now, and should he make it into the semifinals, he’ll takeover the yellow leader’s jersey and world number one ranking.
“It feels really good to just be chipping away at heats,” he said after dispatching Brazil’s Miguel Pupo. “I’m really enjoying it and the challenges that every heat brings and trying to just be okay with that and not be too hard on myself.”
On the other side of the draw sits Australia’s Jack Robinson, who’s been the other standout through the first two days at Sunset. Smooth, confident and measured in his performances, it seems he’s hardly raised his pulse since this thing began. Unfazed by surging Californian Jake Marshall in the Round of 16, Robinson dropped a pair of mid-range scores at the end of the heat to earn his spot into the quarterfinals.
Florence will now face South African journeyman Jordy Smith, who’s quietly been grinding through heats, while Robinson will take on former world champ Italo Ferreira, one of only two goofy-footers left in the draw.
The day wasn’t without a number of news-making upsets as 11-time world champ Kelly Slater went down to last year’s runner-up to the world title Ethan Ewing, who was then later sent packing by fellow Aussie Liam O’Brien. Gabe Medina, Griffin Colapinto and Pipe Pro winner and 2022 Sunset champ Barron Mamiya were also casualties of the tricky conditions.
With the men’s quarterfinalists locked in, up next it will be the women’s turn to take the water. The surf is expected to clean-up this week with plenty more swell on the horizon.
Watch: John John Florence Comes Out Swinging On Opening Day At Sunset Beach
With more than 25 years of writing about surfing, the ocean and action sports, Jake Howard continues to share stories, profiles and issues that shape the surfing world. One of the premier subject-matter experts in the field today, he's savvy in the ways of print, digital and social media, his breadth of work is expansive. Getting his start writing Surfline surf reports and recording the phone reports for 976-SURF in the late '90s, Jake served as the managing editor for Surfer Magazine in the early 2000s before moving on to launch RedBullSurfing.com and cover surfing for ESPN and the X Games. Over the years, Jake has also enjoyed time behind the edit desk at The Surfer's Journal, as well as the World Surf League, where he worked as the Senior Editor for a number of years. Beyond producing editorial content, Jake has served as a digital marketer and copywriter for iconic surf brands such as Quiksilver, Roxy and Rip Curl. Writing thousands of pages of copy for Surfline, he has deep SEO experience as well. The surf columnist for the San Clemente Times, Jake continues to dedicate himself to the culture and history of the sport through his involvement with the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center in San Clemente.