Hawaii’s Florence falls in third round

SAN CLEMENTE, CALIF. » Hawaii’s John John Florence put up the third-highest score of Tuesday’s Round 3 at the Hurley Pro Trestles surf contest. Unfortunately for Florence, his opponent, Owen Wright of Australia, had the round’s best.

Wright, who currently is second in the chase for the Association of Surfing Professionals World Tour title, caught a long right and laid down a series of backhanders to post a 9.77 just minutes from the final horn to top Florence 17.84 to 17.13.

The Hurley Pro was Florence’s first contest as a full-time member of the tour.

"John John’s got a massive future ahead of him and I’d really like to take my hat off to him," Wright said. "He really took it to me and surfed really well. I fell on a couple and then I got one and rode it all the way down and pulled through. I knew it was definitely a 9 and felt like I hit every section in the sweet spot. I’ve got a bit more to drive for with the world title on the line and it pulled me through." Fred Patacchia of Hawaii also was eliminated Tuesday, falling in the third round to Jeremy Flores of France, 10.27 to 9.57.