The first ever Rip Curl Pro Search was blessed with awesome surf and Australian Mick Fanning was a deserved champion, claiming the US$30,000 first prize and his second World Tour event title of the year.
The then 24-year-old completely dominated the final against 14th seeded Phil Macdonald, leading from start to finish after scoring an excellent 8 (out of a possible 10 points) on his second wave, and backing that up with a stunning 9.5 ride halfway through the 35-minute decider.
Macdonald’s strategy of waiting for set waves backfired badly in the final and he posted a total heat score of just 5.3 points (out of a possible 20) versus Fanning’s 17.1 for their respective best two rides. It was unfortunate for Macdonald that he struggled so badly to find waves in the final because he had been a standout performer throughout the event, including posting the highest heat score of the contest, 17.9 in the Round of 16.
Fanning’s win was another strong confirmation of his full recovery from a potentially career-ending injury that saw him miss two-thirds of the 2004 tour after tearing his left hamstring off the pelvic bone in a free-surfing mishap in Indonesia last June.
Major surgery that saw a titanium hook inserted in his pelvis and eight months of rehabilitation followed, with Fanning uncertain that he could return to the form that had many pundits identifying him as a future world champion at the beginning of last year.
But his victory at his home break of Snapper Rocks in the first World Tour event of the year in February and his triumph at St Leu firmly re-established his world title credentials.
Fanning’s path to the final saw him comfortably overcome his good friend and 17th seed Darren O’Rafferty (Australia) in the quarter finals and then West Australian Jake Paterson in the semis. Earlier he beat Brazilian Marcelo Nunes (26th seed) in the Round of 16 and Queensland WCT rookie Bede Durbridge in the Round of 32.
