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TOP 45 REVIEW UNDERACHIEVERS
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These guys are sitting on undisputable talent—we don't think that they’re reaching their full potential on tour. |
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Most telling stat: Only advanced out of third round on three occasions.
Win ratio: 60.97%
At his best: At Mundaka, where he’s never lost a heat.
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10. Bobby Martinez 25, Santa Barbara, California
After a breathtaking rookie year, Bobby Martinez was put to the test during his sophomore outing in 2007. Although he finished the year in tenth place, his final standing was not indicative of his struggle. Without his win in Spain, Martinez’s year was far below average, finishing with six 17th’s and a 33rd—numbers that could easily have seen him slip below the dreaded cutoff mark. In reality, however, Bobby should be quite comfortable around the top-ten mark. His indisputable talent is only hamstrung by the lack of drive that is required to become a real title threat. The reason for his lack of focus is not because he doesn’t want a world title, but rather because his entire program lacks an essential motivator, namely: self-belief. With three tour victories in his two years on tour, Bobby has proved to everyone but himself that he has what it takes to win events. Last year, he won two of his three match-ups against the top five, both of them coming at Mundaka, a venue where he has yet to lose a WCT heat. If he can extend the same confidence that he has in Spain to the other events, he’ll be a major factor. |
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Interesting Stat: Turned in his highest and lowest heat scores of the season in back to back heats
Win Rate: 38%
Win Rate Against The Top 5: 20%
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17. Chris Ward 29, California, USA
It’s still unclear how Chris Ward’s legal problems are going to impact his season. After being arrested on assault charges following an alleged altercation in a bar in Mammoth, he withdrew from the first event of the year. However, assuming Ward is able to attend the rest of the events this season, keep these points in mind before you slot him onto your Fantasy Surfer team: Last year, his win rate was about 38%. He was 1/5 against the top 5, his average heat score was 11.05, and he advanced beyond Round 4 only once. Like Bruce Irons, Ward has always been pegged as a volatile competitor, and, in a way, he still is. The proof: his highest and lowest heat scores of the season, a 1.38 and an 18.07 came in back to back heats at Pipe, where he finished last in his four-man Round 1 match-up before advancing from Round 2 all the way to the Quarterfinals, his best result of the season. |
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Most telling stat: Didn’t advance past Round 4 once in 2007
Win Rate: 55%
Win Rate Against Top 5: 25%
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24. Bruce Irons 28, Kauai, USA
The standard wrap on Bruce Irons, as a competitor, is that he’s volatile, that at any moment he has the ability to turn it on, blow up, and surf through to the finals. And while he certainly has the talent to do just that, Irons didn’t show much volatility at all in 2007. Maybe that nagging lack of interest, which has plagued him for at least two years, is still holding him back, but Irons only advanced beyond Round 3 three times in 2007. And he never advanced beyond Round 4. Translation: He never made a single Quarter Final, Semifinal, or Final. To be considered volatile, you have to occasionally toss in a surprise, but in ’07, results-wise, Irons was predictable—and not in a good way. His refusal to grind out heats means he surfs on inspiration alone, and he draws that from the waves, not from his opponents. If it’s pumping, bet on Bruce, especially if it’s somewhere dangerous and hollow. If not, well, you get the picture. |
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