THIS year will see the return of two-times world champion John John Florence from Hawaii to the Corona Jbay Open. Florence has been battling a major injury for the last 18 months, and is now back on tour and looking stronger than ever.
With three events completed on the World Surf Leagues (WSL) Championship Tour (CT), Florence sits firmly at the number one spot on the leader board – currently wearing the leader’s yellow jersey.
The next event on the tour is the Margaret River Pro in Western Australia. It was this event that Florence won with ease two years ago – revealing to the world an impressive forehand-arcing approach to the big walls of Margaret River waves.
Florence is also a master of Supertubes, and surfs it well enough to be awarded a 10-point ride in the past for a perfectly-ridden wave.
While he is better known for his break-out performances in big waves and waves of consequence like Pipeline in Hawaii and Teahupo’o in Tahiti, he also relishes the perfection that is Supertubes in Jeffreys Bay.
All eyes will be on the Hawaiian, but he will have some fierce competition with the likes of 11-times world champion Kelly Slater on a tour at the moment, and two-times event champion Jordy Smith on a world title run this year and the biggest threat at the event.
For more information about the Corona JBay Open, visit www.jbaywinterfest.com.
