Bold moves advance Todd at U.S. Open

Mike Todd of Laguna Beach made his way into the Round of 96 by turning in an outstanding performance during his first day of competition Tuesday at the Honda U.S. Open of Surfing presented by O’Neill at the Huntington Beach Pier.

When men’s heat competition began at the pier last Friday, the field had 288 competitors.

Todd, 25, scored a 9.00 out of a possible 10 points with a series of explosive forehand maneuvers on a long left-hander.

Todd is ranked 24th in the World Qualifying Series this season and said prior to competing that he was looking to pick up valuable points to increase his standing.

Last year, Todd finished third in his opening heat in the Round of 192, and didn’t advance.

“I felt really good out there,” he said of Tuesday’s performance. “I’m riding a board I really like and everything just seemed to come together.

“This year I’ve got a good start and I’m right there in the hunt of it. This is the leg of the year where we go to Japan and Europe. It’s the meat and potatoes part of the year so I’m trying to get everything I can out of it, get some results and hopefully be on the ASP Foster’s Men’s World Tour next year.”

Also Tuesday, the semi-retired Pat O’Connell of Laguna Beach, formerly of the Assn. Of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour, was eliminated. O’Connell had scored a 14.34 out of 20 possible points to win his opening round heat Monday.

“The conditions are really deceiving out there right now,” O’Connell said of the three- to four-foot waves that came in Monday. “It looks fun, but it’s actually really difficult to punctuate your maneuvers. Still fun, though. This morning was one of the best days of surf I’ve ever seen at Huntington.”

Laguna’s Bron Heussenstamm wasn’t as fortunate in his first men’s heat on Monday as his surf board broke during the Round of 192.

“I fell on a turn and my shin hit the board, breaking the fins,” he said. “I grabbed someone else’s board and tried to recover. I caught a wave near the end of the heat, but ended up losing the heat by something like .3 points.”

Other veteran performers who emerged with Todd Tuesday into the Round of 96 included former men’s U.S. Open winners Sunny Garcia (2000) of Hawaii, Shea Lopez (1999) of Florida and two-time winner Rob Machado (2001, 1995) of Cardiff.

The 2006 Bank of the West Beach Games featuring the Honda U.S. Open of Surfing presented by O’Neill opened last Friday, but the action heats up today and culminates with championship round surfing in men’s, women’s, junior women and junior men, and longboarding, both Saturday and Sunday.

A festival village, sprawled over 12 acres surrounding the pier, features 100 vendor booths and live music on the concert stage beginning today.

The Bank of the West Beach Games has attracted 600 international competitors in surfing, skateboarding, BMX, FMX and the Karch Kiraly Invitational beach volleyball tournament.

The $185,000, six-star Honda U.S. Open of Surfing, North American’s highest-rated qualifying event and the world’s largest professional surfing competition.

Heat action in men’s, women’s, juniors and longboards, continue today, Saturday and Sunday. Division finals are set for Saturday and Sunday.

TODAY

7:30 a.m.: U.S. Open Men (Round of 48, heats 1-12)

9 a.m.: Festival Village opens

9 a.m.: Open practice, Soul Bowl

10:30 a.m.: Masters skate open practice, Soul Bowl

11 a.m.: FMX practice session, FMX Arena

Noon: PartyPoker.net Big ThrowDown -- Skate

12:30 p.m.: U.S. Open of Women (Round of 24, heats 1-6)

12:30 p.m.: MX Mayhem, FMX Arena

1 p.m.: Girls’ Skate Jam, Soul Bowl

2 p.m.: Sound Check - band, Concert Stage

2 p.m.: Whip It presented by Arrowhead, FMX Arena

2:30 p.m.: Bike practice, Soul Bowl

3 p.m.: U.S. Open of Women (Round of 12, heat 1)

3 p.m.: Sound Check - band, Concert Stage

3:30 p.m.: FMX Best Trick, FMX Arena

3:30 p.m.: Boost Mobile Pro Shoot-Out (Round of 8, heat 2)

4 p.m.: Jet Fuel performs, Concert Stage

4 p.m.: PartyPoker.net Big ThrowDown -- FMX

4:20 p.m.: Boost Mobile Pro Shoot-Out (finals)

4:30 p.m.: Open practice, Soul Bowl

5 p.m.: Joe Wood & The Lonely Ones perform, Concert Stage

SATURDAY

7:30 a.m.: U.S. Open Women (Round of 12, heats 2-4)

8:30 a.m.: Open practice, Soul Bowl

8:45 a.m.: U.S. Open Men (Round of 24, heats 1-6)

9 a.m.: Festival Village opens

10 a.m.: Karch Kiraly Invitational volleyball tournament

10:30 a.m.: Bike practice, Soul Bowl

11:15 a.m.: U.S. Open Women (Quarterfinals, heats 1-4)

Noon: MX Mayhem, FMX Arena

12:30 p.m.: PartyPoker.net Big ThrowDown -- Surf

12:55 p.m.: U.S. Open Women (Semifinals, heats 1-2)

1 p.m.: Bike qualifier, Soul Bowl

1:45 p.m.: Target Women’s Junior Pro (finals)

2 p.m.: Whip It presented by Arrowhead, FMX Arena

2 p.m.: Sound Check -- band, Concert Stage

2:15 p.m.: U.S. Open Women (finals)

2:30 p.m.: Masters Skate Jam, Soul Bowl

2:45 p.m.: O’Neill Tow at Demo

3 p.m.: Sound check -- band, Concert Stage

3:30 p.m.: Grandmasters Skate Jam, Soul Bowl

4 p.m.: Common Sense performs, Concert Stage

5 p.m.: Arrowhead Best Trick (Skate) Contest, Soul Bowl

5 p.m.: Concert, Concert Stage

5:30 p.m.: FMX Best Trick, FMX Arena

SUNDAY

8 a.m.: U.S. Open Men (Round of 12, heats 1-4)

8:30 a.m.: Open practice, Soul Bowl

9 a.m.: Festival Village opens

9:40 a.m.: U.S. Open Men (Quarterfinals, heats 1-4)

10 a.m.: BMX practice, Soul Bowl

11 a.m.: Bike final, Soul Bowl

11:20 a.m.: They Will Surf Again Expression Session

Noon: MX Mayhem, FMX Arena

12:05 p.m.: U.S. Open Men (Semifinals, heats 1-2)

12:30 p.m.: Arrowhead High Air Bike Contest, Soul Bowl

12:30 p.m.: Karch Kiraly Invitational volleyball tournament (semifinal No. 1)

12:55 p.m.: Los Pro Junior (finals)

1 p.m.: Bike awards, Soul Bowl

1:15 p.m.: Skate practice, Soul Bowl

1:25 p.m.: O’Neill U.S. Open of Longboarding (finals)

1:30 p.m.: Whip It presented by Arrowhead, FMX Arena

1:45 p.m.: Karch Kiraly Invitational volleyball tournament (semifinal No. 2)

2:15 p.m.: U.S. Open Men (finals)

2:15 p.m.: Pro Skate Jam, Soul Bowl

3 p.m.: Karch Kiraly Invitational volleyball tournament (final)

3:15 p.m.: Skate awards, Soul Bowl

3:30 p.m.: FMX Best Trick, FMX Arena