NATE YEOMANS WINS THE MACY’S CALIFORNIA TRIFECTA SURF SERIES PRESENTED BY JEEP TITLE AND $10,000 BONUS
-Champion Decided on the Last Wave of the O’Neill Cold Water Classic-
The 2006 Macy’s California Trifecta Surf Series presented by Jeep concluded on the final day of the O’Neill Cold Water Classic presented by Jeep. Still reeling off his win at the Newport Beach Pro presented by Jeep, Nate Yeomans was able to earn enough points to squeak by Nathaniel Curran and become the 2006 Macy’s California Trifecta Surf Series Champion.
Going into the O’Neill Cold Water Classic, Yeomans trailed Dustin Cuizon by only 90 points, and Curran was in third place contention trailing by 585 points. When Cuizon was knocked out of the event in the round of 64, it opened up the door for Yeomans and Curran to make a run for the Trifecta title.
Yeomans and Curran found themselves going head-to-head in a quarterfinal heat with talented surfers Tim Reyes and Roy Powers. Reyes and Curran advanced out of the heat while Yeomans finished third. Yeomans’ quarterfinal finish earned him enough points to overtake Cuizon for the lead but not enough to secure him the title. The pressure was on Curran – he needed to win the O’Neill Cold Water Classic in order to surpass Yeomans’ point total and win the $10,000 Trifecta overall points bonus.
As the final heat wound down, Curran needed a wave score of 4.9 out of 10 to take the lead from Toby Martin making him the O’Neill Cold Water Classic and the Macy’s California Trifecta Surf Series Champion. With seconds left in the heat, Curran caught a wave and was still up and riding as the final horn sounded. The crowd held it’s breath as the scores dropped in. Curran’s final wave scored a 4.5 leaving him just four tenths of a point out of first place and making Yeomans the 2006 Macy’s California Trifecta Surf Series Champion.
With just 45 points separating first and second, Yeomans’ 3,165 points total was enough to edge out O’Neill Cold Water Classic runner-up Curran with 3,120 overall points. Cuizon finished the Trifecta Series in third place with 2,913 overall points. The Trifecta, along with Action Sports Group (ASG) and ASP North America, awarded Yeomans, the overall points-winner a bonus of $10,000, Curran a second-place bonus of $3,500 and Cuizon a third-place bonus of $1,500.
Formed in 2005, the Macy’s CA Trifecta Surf Series is part of a three-year plan to strengthen surfing in America, uniting the Body Glove Surfbout presented by Adio, the Newport Beach Pro presented by Jeep, and the O’Neill Cold Water Classic presented by Jeep under one banner. The Trifecta offers a $33,333 prize purse to the surfer who takes first place in three California WQS events. Since no single surfer placed first in all three events, the winner was determined by the overall points leader.
The third year of the Macy’s California Trifecta Surf Series will begin in April 2007 at the Body Glove Surfbout presented by Adio.
