OP PRO CHAMPIONSHIPS -- THE COMPETITORS : TOP ORANGE COUNTY ENTRANTS
Dino Andino, San Clemente--Andino splits time between stops on the world and U.S. tours. He finished ninth at last year’s Op Pro, upsetting second-seeded Damien Hardman in the second round.
Shane Beschen, San Clemente--A recent graduate of San Clemente High, Beschen ranked in the top three on the U.S. tour. He won his first major professional title at the Easter Surfing meet at Bolsa Chica State Beach in April.
Jeff Booth, Laguna Beach--Known for his athletic and academic achievements at Laguna Beach High, Booth graduated in 1987 with a 4.0 grade-point average. He fought off mononucleosis and a late-season slump last year to finish 23rd on the world tour. Booth, 20, finished 33rd at last year’s Op Pro. He’s currently 27th in the standings with 3,440 points.
Gary Clisby, Huntington Beach--A regular on the U.S. tour, Clisby was one of the biggest surprises last year at the Op Pro, eliminating sixth-seeded Dave Macaulay in the second round before losing in the third round to Rob Bain. He competed four years on the world tour before returning to the U.S. circuit in 1989.
Richie Collins, Newport Beach--Collins, the defending Op Pro champion, is 16th in the tour’s point standings. He is coming off his best overall finish (eighth) last season. Collins, 21, made his professional debut at age 14. Before joining the world tour in 1987, Collins was ranked first on the U.S. tour. He’s best known for his floater maneuvers. He and his father, Lance, manufacture surfboards in Costa Mesa.
Mike Parsons, Laguna Beach--Parsons, 25, finished 28th on the world tour last season and was fifth at the Op Pro. He’s currently 24th in the point standings. He was ranked No. 1 by the National Scholastic Surfing Assn. before turning pro in 1984. He’s also worked as an amateur surf contest director and judge.
OTHER TOP ENTRANTS-MEN
Rob Bain, Manly, Australia--Bain, who finished fifth at last year’s Op Pro, leads the world tour point standings with 6,592. Bain, 27, made his professional debut in 1984 with a 17th-place finish at the Op Pro. Bain has finished ninth in the season points standings the last two years. He’s also known to be one of the best billiard players on the tour.
Tom Carroll, Newport, Australia--Carroll, the world champion in 1983 and ‘84, has been a man of many firsts in his 10-year career. He was the first to win $300,000 in career earnings and the first surfer to sign a $1 million endorsement contract. Carroll finished fifth on the tour and ninth at the Op Pro last year.
Tom Curren, Santa Barbara--Curren, seeking his third world title, won three of the first four stops on the tour and is currently third in the point standings. Curren sat out the Life’s a Beach competition at Oceanside July 16, telling meet officials he wanted to spend more time with his family. He finished second to Richie Collins of Newport Beach at last year’s Op Pro.
Gary Elkerton, Mooloolaba, Australia--Elkerton currently is in second place in the overall point standings (5,692) behind Rob Bain. Last year, Elkerton was upset in the second round of the Op Pro by Vetea David of Tahiti.
Sunny Garcia, Waianae, Hawaii--Garcia is coming off a second-place finish to Martin Potter at the Life’s a Beach competition at Oceanside July 15. He has finished 16th in the overall standings the last two seasons, but is in eighth place this year. He was named the tour’s most improved surfer in 1987, improving from 47th to 17th overall.
Damien Hardman, Narrabeen, Australia--Hardman is hoping to recapture his winning touch from 1987-88, when he won 11 events and the 1987 world title. Hardman, 24, is currently sixth on the tour with 5,222 points. He finished fourth on the tour last year despite the fact that he did not win an event. He was knocked out in the second round of the Op Pro last year by Dino Andino of San Clemente.
Derek Ho, Waimanalo, Hawaii--Ho, 26, won two events and finished second in three others on the way to a second-place finish last year. He’s the nephew of legendary Hawaiian entertainer Don Ho. Derek’s older brother, Michael, also is one of the top surfers on the tour.
Barton Lynch, Manly, Australia--The 1988 world champion struggled at the Op Pro last year, losing to Mike Lambresi of Oceanside. Lynch, who won the Op Pro in 1987, is in fourth place in the point standings. He finished third at the Life’s a Beach competition in Oceanside.
Dave MacAulay, Cowaramup Bay, Australia--Macaulay is in fifth place in the point standings. Macaulay enjoyed a three-event winning streak last year that helped him finish third overall. He was upset by Gary Clisby of Huntington Beach in the second round of last year’s Op Pro.
Martin Potter, Newquay, England--The defending world champion is seventh in the point standings with 5,008. He’s coming off his first victory of the season, a victory over Sunny Garcia in the finals of the Life’s a Beach competition in Oceanside. Potter won six events on the tour last year, more than any other surfer, but was knocked out in the quarterfinals of the Op Pro. He was a citizen of South Africa until a few years ago, when he moved to Newquay and applied for citizenship there.
WOMEN
Lisa Andersen, Ormond Beach, Fla.--Andersen, formerly of Huntington Beach, hadn’t won an event before this season. She has won two of the first four events so far and is currently second in the point standings. Andersen, 21, was a standout gymnast and softball player in high school.
Wendy Botha, Sydney, Australia--The defending world champion missed the first stop on the tour this year while undergoing arthroscopic surgery to repair ligament and cartilage damage in her right knee. Surfing with a knee brace, Botha won the Coke tournament and was third at the Life’s a Beach competition in Oceanside. She is currently fifth in the point standings.She won the Op in 1987 and was fifth last year.
Pam Burridge, Newport Beach, Australia--The former model and top junior swimmer from Australia is leading the point standings with 6,814. She finished second on the world tour last season for the fourth consecutive year. Burridge, 25, also has recorded a number of songs with an Australian band.
Kim Mearig, Santa Barbara--Mearig, 26, has been struggling to regain the form that helped her win the world title in 1983. She finished fifth on the tour last year and was second to Frieda Zamba at the Op Pro. As an amateur, Mearig won titles at the U.S. championships, the National Scholastic Surfing Assn. and the Western Surfing Assn.
Frieda Zamba, Flagler Beach, Fla.--The four-time world champion overcame a bout with the flu to defeat Kim Mearig in the finals of last year’s Op Pro. Zamba won the first stop on the tour this season at Santa Cruz.
