goofy-foot Hawaiian Freddy Boy Patacchia in the quarters and 2004
finalist Aussie Nathan Hedge in the semis. Damien was getting some
deep ones, but got lip-impacted and slammed hard halfway through the
final, dislocating his shoulder. He had to be helped outta the
lineup.
The final placing moves Damien into a tie for second in the
overall standings with world champ Andy Irons, who unbelievably lost
in round four.
It sounds like bad news for Damien; the injury was worse than
expected. He had to get shoulder surgery this week and will miss the
Globe Pro at Tavarua, Fiji, which is scheduled to start this week
already with waiting period lingering.
The surf's been up here at Surf City's beaches. Hope you're
getting some barrels too.
Fig, over and out
* RICK FIGNETTI is a nine-time West Coast champion, has announced
the U.S. Open of Surfing the last 11 years and has been the KROQ-FM
surfologist for the last 18 years, doing morning surf reports. He
owns a surf shop on Main Street. You can reach him at (714) 536-1058.
