San Clemente, Calif. — Californian Andrew Doheny, 17, clinched the biggest win of his career when he won the ASP Grade-2 Oakley Pro Junior at Lower Trestles, Saturday.
Doheny won his first ASP Pro Junior event over a stacked final field including reigning ASP North America Pro Junior Series Champion Nat Young, 18, and the Kaua‘i duo of Dylan Goodale, 19, and Tyler Newton, 19, with an impressive 17.10 out of 20 heat total after moving through an elite early-round field including current ASP Dream Tour surfer Brazil’s Jadson Andre, 20.
Young put up a 15.40, Goodale had a 14.17 and Newton finished with a 13.60.
“I don’t even know what to say, this doesn’t feel real,” Doheny said. “I hope it’s not a dream. This was the hardest draw because there were so many good international guys competing. It’s been an awesome event and it’s been inspiring to see all of the top pros like Andy (Irons) surfing.”
The impressive victory posted by Doheny catapults the young Newport Beach native to second overall on the ASP North America Pro Junior Series, increasing his chances towards qualification for this year’s ASP World Junior Tour.
“Hopefully this puts me in good position for the rest of the year,” Doheny said. “I really want to qualify for the World Junior Tour, so hopefully it’s on. I’m going to try my best.”
Gabe Kling, 29, won the ASP PRIME 6.0 Lowers Pro over ASP Dream Tour No. 13 Chris Davidson, 33, in two-to-four foot surf at the famed cobblestone pointbreak of Lower Trestles after the world’s finest surfers pushed the performance barriers of competitive surfing throughout the entire week of competition while reveling in the firing south swell.
Kling quietly navigated his way through the early rounds of competition before gaining momentum in the final day of action. The Floridian talent unleashed a furious backhand attack on the Lowers lefthanders and combined his heats with a repertoire of powerful carves and rail gouges on his forehand to eliminate current ASP Dream Tour No. 2 Jordy Smith, 22, in the quarterfinals, and three-time ASP World Champion Andy Irons, 31, in the semifinals before taking out the 6.0 Lowers Pro title over Davidson.
“There were no easy heats out there and I felt like I just kept squeaking it through,” Kling said. “I didn’t even win a heat until it went to man-on-man. I kind of peaked at the right time and had a lot of luck on my side. This is the biggest win of my career.”
The Floridian regular-footer’s 6.0 Lowers Pro win will help to catapult Kling to the higher rung of the ASP One World Ratings, substantially helping his chances of qualification for next year’s ASP Dream Tour.
Irons dispensed amazing performances heat after heat, but stumbled in the semifinals against Kling after breaking his board in the early minutes of their bout and was unable to recover throughout the heat. Irons finished equal third overall.
“I knew it was going to be a good heat,” Irons said. “Gabe (Kling) has been having a good contest, he took Jordy (Smith) out in the last round and I knew he wasn’t going to be a slouch. As soon as my board broke, it just kind of broke my whole deal. That’s my board that has gotten me back into a good rhythm and when it broke, I kind of felt like my dreams got crushed right there and it was kind of hard to pick myself back up.”
Irons, who is currently competing as a full-time competitor on the ASP Dream Tour after a one-year sabbatical, looked at his impressive finish at Lowers as a step in the right direction to help build his momentum as the ASP World Title Race season progresses.
