Men's Round 2 Wraps Up at Skullcandy Oz From Open

The Boys Pro Junior divisions in the 2019 Skullcandy Oz Grom Open presented by Vissla continued today with the second round being run-and-won in decent two-foot conditions.

Dakoda Walters (Angourie, NSW) continued his excellent momentum as he nailed his second round heat. Much like his performance yesterday, Walters got off to an early start, beginning the heat with giant 8.00 scoring wave for a series of mammoth forehand wraps, before backing it up with a 7.07 to take his heat total to 15.07. Walters will face off with Martim Paulino (Portugal), Tane Bowden (NZL) and Joel Vaughan (Bateau Bay, NSW) tomorrow.

"I've wanted to make sure I get off to a quick start in every heat I've had," said Walters. "I thought it was going to be a bit slower with the higher tide, so I knew I had to make my first wave count. Thankfully, it stood up and ran through to the inside and allowed me to do a couple of turns."

Following on from his excellent performance yesterday, Kai Tandler (Coolangatta, Qld) proceeded to post another handful of impressive scores as he tackled his round two heat. Tandler attacked the righthanders with a similar level of gusto as he did in round one, as he posted a respectable 13.43 two-wave heat total.

"I'm feeling pretty confident after those last two heats I've had," said Tandler. "I've been competing in this event in Lennox Head since I was 14, so I think I'm pretty comfortable here on this beach, I just hope the swell kicks in a little bit more tomorrow and we get some swell for the finals day."

Tane Bowden's (NZL) powerful forehand repertoire paid dividends this morning as he decimated a handful of long righthanders. Bowden posted to scores in the seven-point range to gain the upper hand in the battle and finish the heat with a 14.46 two-wave heat total.

"Originally I thought I might have been able to try a few airs, but as the offshore wind picked up, I knew the wind wouldn't be favourable for airs so I stuck to surfing on the face," said Bowden. "I really like surfing down here as it's quite an open beach and all the competitors aren't bunched together, so you can get a chance to find some decent waves that run the whole way along the bank."

Brodie Sale (USA) showed no signs of slowing down as he performed an eclectic mix of carves and snaps to notch up a solid 15.67 two-wave heat total. The aforementioned score allowed the American natural-footer to gain a stranglehold on the heat and leave his closest rival Martim Paulino (Portugal) requiring a near perfect 9.84 wave to take away his lead.

"I found that if you get the best wave out there then you have the advantage," said Sale. "I've only really set one goal for myself and that was to win, so I really hope I can keep this momentum going over the next few days."