April (ANA) - David van Zyl beat Adin Masencamp by three points to snatch the Volkswagen Nelson Mandela Bay Surf Pro presented by Billabong over Easter weekend with a comfortable 14.50 to 11.50 victory on Monday.
The event was the first of 13 events on the 2018 World Surf League (WSL) Africa regional tour.
Not only did Van Zyl take home a respectable scalp and bragging rights, but he also banked 1500 QS points and a R40 000 prize purse.
“It is fantastic to have a QS1500 event in South Africa and to have the opportunity to earn those points and money on home soil without having to travel overseas. It is also amazing that the City Surf Series has brought so many QS rated events to South Africa”, said Van Zyl.
The open women’s laurels went to Kai Woolf, formerly of Jeffreys Bay but now resides in New Zealand, who also clinched the junior women’s title an hour before surfing in the open final against WSL Africa champion, Nicole Palett.
Woolf, 17, logged scores of 6.25 and 7.25 to take the 13.50 to 9.00 win over Palett. Woolf’s victory earned her 1000 QS points and R8 000 in the bank while Palett took home 750 points and R4 000.
The runner-up in the in junior women’s final was Sophie Bell, who also surfed in the open women’s semi-final.
“I’m super stoked to win both the junior and open women’s titles and am looking forward to the next contest,” said Woolf.
Dillon Hendricks from J-Bay kept up the good form that earned him a special mention earlier on in the contest, to win the junior men’s title.
He narrowly edged out Max Elkington who also scored 13.50 points in the final but lost out because Hendricks scored better on his highest wave score. His win earned him a valuable 1000 QS points towards his international QS ranking.
- African News Agency (ANA)
(Photo: Ian Thurtell)
