MEREWETHER, Australia — Hawai‘i’s Granger Larsen won the ASP Grade-2 Arnette Pro Junior in small, clean waves on Sunday at south Bar Beach in Newcastle, Australia. The stylish natural-footer looked comfortable in the 2- to 3-feet surf held up by
MEREWETHER, Australia — Hawai‘i’s Granger Larsen won the ASP Grade-2 Arnette Pro Junior in small, clean waves on Sunday at south Bar Beach in Newcastle, Australia.
The stylish natural-footer looked comfortable in the 2- to 3-feet surf held up by offshore winds and scored a 9-point ride by busting a big aerial on his way to total heat score of 16.90 out of a possible 20.
Laresen defeated Ty Watson (Currarong, New South Wales) who scored a heat total of 9.60 out of a possible 20.
The 19-year-old Larsen pocketed $3,000 for his win. Granger, who last won a Pro Junior on O‘ahu in 2005, sees this as his best career win.
“It’s been awhile between wins and this is great,” Larsen said. “It’s really terrific to get a win against this level of competition.”
Larsen is no stranger to these shores, having made four successive trips from his Maui home to contest the annual Billabong ASP World Junior Championships at Narrabeen.
For runner-up Watson, a 4th-year apprentice plumber, a tour win remains elusive.
Yesterday he edged out his younger brother Jordi in a heat to progress to today’s Finals, but Watson was always going to find it hard to secure victory once Larsen racked up a 9-point ride halfway through their battle.
Australian surfing sensation Laura Enever not only made it two wins from two starts on the ASP Australasian Pro Junior girls tour, but also racked up a hat-trick of wins at Newcastle by taking out the girls competition for the third year in a row.
Enever (13.25) defeated 18-year-old Brittani Nicholl (Cabarita Beach) (7.80).
Now sitting firmly atop the ASP Australasian Pro Junior girls ratings, the Enever’s win in Sunday’s Arnette Pro Junior saw her pocket $1,000.
Enever says Newcastle is consistently proving to be a happy hunting ground.
“I love surfing in Newcastle,” Enever said. “I just seem to get the waves here. This is a real confidence boost for me going into this week’s Maitland Toyota Open. I am feeling really good about my surfing.”
ASP World Qualifying Series action recommences today at Merewether Beach.
