In a matchup of two future potential world champions, Caroline Marks picked up her second QS 6,000 contest win of the season by defeating Tatiana Weston-Webb in the Los Cabos Open of Surf final.
Marks, 16, is on a tear over the past 18 months and continues to solidify herself as one of the world’s best surfers at a very early stage in her career. Her phenomenal 2017 QS season, which earned her a rookie spot on this year’s Championship Tour, was certainly no fluke as Marks has already surpassed last year’s point total through just four contests. She’s the runaway points leader and assured of a top-six ranking, so there won’t be any pressure for CT results to keep her spot on the dream tour.
Pressure doesn’t seem to be something she even experiences because Marks has displayed calm in the clutch time and time again. This time it was by continuing to throw big numbers on the board in the necessary moments. Marks began her finals day with a dominant win over Alana Blanchard, putting an 18.00 total on the board, which was the contest’s highest heat total. She followed that up with a win over Brisa Hennessy, though the pair actually tied but her 8.93 was the best single-wave score, pushing Marks through with the tiebreaker.
She then took on veteran Silvana Lima in the semifinals, edging out a 14.63 to 13.17 victory to meet up with Weston-Webb for the title. Marks sits seventh in the world tour rankings while Weston-Webb is holding steady in third, but it was Marks with the best wave of the heat — a 9.43 gem — that swung things in her favor for the 17.06 to 16.00 win and 6,000 QS points.
She now has wins at both Cabo and the Ron Jon Florida Pro, plus three finals day appearances in five CT events. World titles aren’t easy to come by, but this level of achievement at such a young age certainly bodes well for Marks to someday reach that pedestal.
Weston-Webb is eyeing a world title of her own this year and her career has somewhat mirrored what Marks is doing at the moment. Tati has been a dominant QS performer and also had a very strong rookie campaign on the CT, finishing in seventh place in 2015. But she was the runner-up this time around, despite being perhaps the most in-form surfer of the event. Regardless of the order of finish, both Marks and Weston-Webb were clearly the two women to beat all week and it seems like this could develop into something of a rivalry. Marks also knocked Weston-Webb out in their Florida Pro semifinal matchup.
While it may not have had the ending she would have hoped, Blanchard’s ninth-place result is a fantastic showing for the new mom in her return to competition. Blanchard doesn’t appear to be eyeing a full schedule of contests, but seeing her in a jersey and making heats added an additional layer of depth to an already marquee event.
Hennessy’s fifth-place result moves her up to a tie for 13th on the QS rankings. As another one of the next generation rippers, Hennessy keeps showing signs that her arrival on the main stage is imminent. A couple more similar showings this season could even have her on the verge of qualification.
Cabo turned out to be a disappointment for Malia Manuel, who wasn’t able to get through her fourth-round heat and takes a 25th-place result. She’s now 10th on the QS while sitting 12th on the CT. It’s definitely not panic time because Manuel already has two big QS results to build on and she’s one of the best at every stop. If the season ended today, Manuel would not be back on the 2019 CT. Thankfully, it doesn’t end today and it still seems to be a given that Manuel will have at least one more deep run at a QS 6,000 to easily re-qualify.
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David Simon can be reached at dsimon@thegardenisland.com.
