San Clemente’s Cole Houshmand has earned yet another massive win, this time in South Africa, putting the up-and-coming surfer in striking distance of making next year’s World Surf League World Tour.
Houshmand earned the top spot at the Ballito Pro in South Africa on July 8, a win that follows another victory in Australia in May, putting him in the lead for the Challenger Series rankings, the route to earning a spot to compete against the world’s best.
On the women’s side, Australia’s Bronte Macaulay earned the event’s win.
Houshmand had waited for the right set wave to roll in, but after a long, 10-minute lull, Frederico Morais was able to take the lead.
The two surfers exchanged waves, but it was a last-second, 4.67 buzzer-beating wave ride that earned Houshmand the win – just 0.33 above what he needed to overtake his opponent.
“I’m speechless right now, that was the scariest heat I’ve had this whole event,” Houshmand said in a World Surf League interview. “Luckily that wave came, but congrats to Frederico, he was ripping the whole event. It’s been amazing.”
Houshmand gave a shout-out to his San Clemente support crew, including former World Tour surfer Kolohe Andino, who was cut mid-year, and Kade Matson, who had a semi-final finish in the South Africa event and is currently ranked 5th on the Challenger Series. Matson is also in a good spot to land on the World Tour.
Now, Houshmand has his eye on the U.S. Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach that kicks off July 29, a place where he grew up competing on the amateur circuit. Earlier this year, he took runner up at the pier in a lower-level qualifying series event, the Jack’s Surfboard Pro.
The U.S. Open of Surfing is the fourth of six stops on the Challenger Series, with the top 10 earning a spot on next year’s World Tour.
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