Biggest professional win for Durban surfer
South Africa's David Van Zyl was the first international winner at the Vans Pro.
DURBAN’S David Van Zyl conquered an all-star final on Wednesday, 30 October at the Vans Pro, a World Surf League (WSL) Men’s Qualifying Series (QS) 3,000 event, after battling proper surf at Sunset Beach to come out on top of the 112-man field.
Only the second non-Hawaii surfer to win the Vans Pro, Van Zyl is the first international athlete to take the title after besting former event winner and Sunset powerhouse Ezekiel Lau (Hawaii), big wave connoisseur Jack Robinson (Australia) and North Shore standout Barron Mamiya (Hawaii), who earned runner-up, third and fourth place respectively.
His biggest professional win to date, Van Zyl had an underdog victory after climbing out of a combo situation in the final and pulling ahead of heat frontrunner Lau. With priority, the South African scored a 6.67 (out of a possible 10) for an aggressive, well-timed turn in the critical part of the section, then picked up another wave under priority toward the end of the heat. He went vertical on two turns to score an 8.00 and moved into first place to shake up the standings.
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“I can’t believe it, I’m so stoked, I went into the final just so stoked to have made the final. I just wanted to surf and get a few waves, I wasn’t really planning on winning or doing anything crazy. I just wanted to get good scores and good waves. I was a bit nervous at the start, I actually was comboed for pretty much half the heat so to come back at the end was really special,” he said.
Van Zyl last tasted victory in 2018 when he won his first QS event in local waters at the VW Nelson Mandela Bay Surf Pro in Port Elizabeth.
The Vans Triple Crown will begin at Haleiwa Ali’i Beach for the Hawaiian Pro, a Men’s QS 10,000 event and the penultimate QS event of the year.
