CJ Hobgood took advantage of nice conditions to pull out a win at the O’Neill World Cup at Sunset Beach, HI, edging Tom Whitaker in a four-man final.

Hobgood scored a combined 15.00 in the final, led by his final wave score of 8.50.  Whitaker scored a combined 12.67.  Jordy Smith, who received the contest’s only perfect 10 Thursday in the round of 32, also made it to the final but was fourth with only a 2.86 combined score.  Smith had a run of bad luck in the final including a broken board and injury to his leg.

Surfers had huge waves for most of the final, with 20-30 wave face heights.

“It’s perfect size and really clean. There was probably one or two sets a heat that were too big,” Hobgood said after the contest. “Just some macking nuts waves out there.”

The World Cup is the second leg of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing.  Dusty Payne leads the rankings for the mini-tour, followed by CJ Hobgood and Joel Parkinson.  All three will be competing at the Billabong Pipeline Masters which has a holding period starting Dec. 8.

For more about the contest, visit the Triple Crown website.

In the last round of action, more than a dozen surfers were eliminated from the world tour hunt, including Brett Simpson, Heitor Alves, Shaun Cansdell and Nathan Yeomans.

Still fighting or a spot on the ’09 World Tour are Shaun Gossman (pictured), Patrick Gudauskas, Phillip MacDonald, Yadin Nicol and Sunny Garcia.  The top 15 ranked surfers on the WQS rankings (not already qualified through the World Tour rankings) will get a slot on the ’09 world tour.

While Garcia needs to place high in the contest to qualify for the tour, his comeback after being jailed on tax evasion charges last year is nothing less than remarkable.

Action on the World Cup of Surfing may continue on Tuesday depending on conditions.

It was a busy weekend in Santa Cruz as two surfing contests wrapped up.  Nat Young won the O’Neill Cold Water Classic, a 4-Star ASP WQS event, continuing a strong season that also saw him finishing second on the ASP North America Pro Junior Series.

The Santa Cruz local defeated Chris Waring, Granger Larsen and Sean Moody in he final.

The Cold Water Classic was the final event of the Macy’s California Trifecta Surf Series, which paid an additional $10,000 prize to Micah Byrne.  Asher Nolan finished second for the Trifecta, followed by Nate Yeomans, who didn’t compete in the event

Also in Santa Cruz, Hawaii’s Mason Ho, 20, claimed the top spot at the Oakley Pro Junior ASP North America Championships.

There was also a Macy’s California Trifecta Surf Series for the juniors, with Sebastian Zietz, 20, in first, Nat Young in second and Fisher Heverly third.

For complete results visit:  www.coldwaterclassic.net

O’Neill Cold Water Classic Results:
Final:
1 – Nat Young (USA) 13.87
2 – Chris Waring (USA) 13.84
3 – Granger Larsen (HAW) 12.93
4 – Sean Moody (HAW) 11.94

Macy’s CA Trifecta WQS Results:
1 – Micah Byrne (Huntington Beach, CA) $10,000
2 – Asher Nolan (Jacksonville, FL) $3,500
3 – Nate Yeomans (San Clemente, CA)  $1,500

Oakley Pro Junior ASP North American Championship Results
Final:
1 – Mason Ho (HAW) 19.10
2 – Jayke Sharp (AUS) 11.47
3 – Bruno Rodrigues (USA) 11.00
4 – Matt Pagan (USA) 6.67

Macy’s CA Trifecta Oakley Pro Junior Results
1 – Sebastian Zietz (Kilauea, HI) $7,000
2 – Nat Young (Santa Cruz, CA) $2,000
3 – Fisher Heverly (Emerald Isle, NC) $1,000