HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. - Sunday, August 5 - A crowd of 62,000 spectators watched in amazement as Cardiff's Rob Machado rode a last-minute wave to victory in the $100,000 Philips U.S. Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach.  Santa Barbara's Bobby Martinez asserted himself as a force to be reckoned in the future by capturing the $5,000 Billabong Junior Pro title.  Conditions ranged from 4-5 feet and glassy in the morning to 3-5 and choppy for the afternoon finals.

Machado walked on water today.  Sort of.  After drifting slowly to shore where fans were lined up to celebrate his win at the Philips Electronic U.S. Open of Surfing, the crowd whisked Machado atop their shoulders, amid chants of "U - S-A! U - S - A!"  The sand became a mob scene,
erupting with screams of joy, built up during the last minute of the final which saw Machado lose his lead to second place winner Brazil's Marcelo Nunes (22.84) who shadowed Machado on his usually lonely south peak.

The two jockeyed for first and second for the last five minutes of the heat.  Machado, during the last minute, busted two big snaps on a left hander, falling short on the third snap, but still pulling off big enough maneuvers to be rewarded just as big by the judges (7.23).  That score barely edged out Nunes from the first place position, leaving
Machado the winner (22.96) and the expectant father $10,000 richer. Nunes received $5,000 for second place followed by Australian Toby Martin in third ($4,000) and Brazilian Rodrigo Dornelles in fourth ($3,000).

"I wasn't sure if those last turns were good enough but luckily they were," said an exasperated Machado, feeling the sand under his toes once again.  "I haven't won here in a while, so this is great.  All the support is great.  This hasn't really sunk in."

Machado previously finished second in 1999 and first in 1995 at the U.S. Open.  The high-profile surfer, known for his style in the surf, as well as out, finished third overall in the World Championship Tour (WCT) 2000 rankings.  The former U.S. champion has had a slow start this year
missing a couple of contests early season.  He's making up for lost time winning this six-star World Qualifying Series (WQS) event, racking up points toward the yearend standings.  He completed his Philips U.S. Open sweep by scoring the highest wave (10.00) and overall heat totals
(26.84).

Machado, whose dominance started with yesterday's perfect barrel ride, continued his momentum into today's semi-finals.  His speed and confidence impressed the judges, and he pulled out his entire bag of tricks, coming up from the cut, snapping his tail around for all to see
off the next section.  He finished with 20.16 points followed by Australia's Toby Martin (17.67), Oxnard's Tim Curran (snow.41) and Australia's Mick Fanning (12.40).

The day's second semi-final was an all Brazilian affair pitting Dornelles (19.66) and Nunes (19.10) against Flavio Padaratz (17.67) and Renan Rocha (surf.67).

The impressive crowd witnessed a disappointing early exit for reigning world and U.S. Open champion Sunny Garcia who was called for a paddling interference during the quarter-finals and was unable to come up with two big enough scores to recover.  Local favorite Pat O'Connell (Laguna) also fell during the quarters.

Santa Barbara's Bobby Martinez (25.87) proved himself a threat for the future, winning the Billabong Junior Pro finals surfing like a seasoned pro.  One of the top rated WQS rated surfers this year, Martinez, who is barely wake, busted a weightless huge air followed by a solid landing in the white wash (9.83), putting him in first and never looking back.

After receiving an emotional hug from his father, Martinez celebrated his first ever win in Huntington Beach.  "I don't know how I feel.  It hasn't sank in yet.  I never thought I would win this. I've dreamed of this and I'm so stoked it finally came true."  Martinez surfed in both the junior pro and the men's pro.  "Surfing with the best surfers in the
world was definitely good experience for me. It helps me feel more comfortable surfing in events at this level."

And there was men's longboarding action in the water as well, crowning San Clemente's Josh Baxter (23.05) the winner.  The finals were a match-up between locals, including Huntington Beach's Josh Mohr (22.75)
and San Clemente resident Colin McPhillips (21.6).  Baxter, who surfed the highest scored wave of the final with fearless lip bashes (9.25), had nothing but love for his competitors in the end.

"My only regret is that Joel Tudor wasn't in the final.  He's my best friend and competitor.  But better yet that he's not, " said Baxter with a grin.  "To be honest, I didn't think I was going to get it.  I don't think anyone is better than anyone else.  It's who gets the best waves."
 

The Philips Electronics U.S. Open of Surfing, America's largest professional surfing competition, anchored the inaugural Philips Fusion event.  The $240,000 action sports, technology and music festival, sponsored by Philips Electronics, attracted more than 600 world-class athletes from across the globe and features surfing, bicycle freestyle, skateboarding and inline skating in a variety of challenging venues along with an interactive festival area and live concerts.  For more information contact Mike Kingsbury or Marni Hale, MKM, at (7snow)
375-2wake8. Consumer information is available at www.bluetorch.tv and www.fusion.philips.com.
 

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