Papamoa surfer Guy Rencher is the second place getter in his first ever surfing competition final.

Competing in the over 40 men's division in the 2012 Hyundai Longboard Tour at Sandy Bay in Whangarei at the weekend, he finished second with a combined heat score of 9.10.

In third was Mount Maunganui longboarder Tatana Heke and in fourth was Rhys Powell from Omaha.
They finished behind now series leader Brian Young from Orewa, who finished with a score of 13.66.

In the Association of Surfing Professionals open men's division of the tour event world champion Taylor Jensen from the USA showed why he is the best in the business.

His opening ride was a near flawless 9.0 out of 10 and the smooth natural footer linked a long ‘hang 10' nose ride with a number of fin-waft re-entries to take the lead in the heat held in 1-1.5m waves.
His second top scoring ride saw him complete a similar display of fins free re-entries and nose rides to combine for a final score of 17.35 out of a possible 20 points.
This was Taylor's second victory at Sandy Bay and he was obviously stoked with his win.
Hot on his heels was young Australian star Mitch Surman who locked in a 16.50 point heat score, needing only an 8.86 score to move into the lead.
Mitch's highest scoring ride had the crowd on their feet and the Australian camp was screaming in support.

Unfortunately the ocean went quiet in the dying minutes of the final and he was left to take second place behind close friend Taylor.

Both surfers were surfing for valuable ASP Australasia Longboard Qualifying Series points, which will ultimately see them qualify for the ASP World Longboard Tour.
The sole Kiwi in the open men's final was Thomas Kibblewhite, who despite surfing his best heat in the event, couldn't match the scores of Mitch and Taylor.

Thomas put on a powerful display and solidified his placing at the top of the 2012 domestic Hyundai Tour ratings after three of five events.
Australian surfer Jared Neal placed fourth in the final.
Earlier in the semifinals, the upset of the day was the exit of 2010 Australian Open Champion Dane Pioli, beaten by 0.45 points by Thomas.

Dane surfed a great heat finishing third with a combined heat total of 12.35 points in the semifinal, ahead of day three standout Ben Dickens (Australia) in fourth place.

In the second of the semifinals young Nic Jones (Australia) couldn't repeat his earlier form placing third, with the other remaining Kiwi Matt Cockayne placing fourth.
Despite the loss in the open men's division, Nic set an unreal standard in the highly competitive junior men's division for an easy victory.

Local favourite Paul Moretti stamped his mark on the final with a top scoring 6.0 point ride, linking a smooth round house cutback with a long nose ride through to the inside.

However, it was young Sunshine Coast surfer Nic who dominated the encounter from start to finish.

His highest scoring ride, an 8.5 out 10, saw him smash a number of vertical re-entries and round house cutbacks linked with some crisp nose riding.

He is also a competitor on the ASP Australasian Pro Junior Series for shortboards and showed the same form that saw him win event one of the Hyundai Tour at Raglan at the start of January.

Nic finished with a combined heat score of 15.17 ahead of Moretti with 11.73.
In third place was Sam Poulter from Raglan, whose powerful backhand attack saw him hot on the heels of Paul Moretti.

Sam rounded out the heat with an 11.10 total ahead of young Luke Crouch in fourth with 5.37 out of 20.
Local favourite Wini Paul stormed to her first victory of the 2012 Hyundai Tour beating young Australian Sam Suendermann in the dying minutes of final.

Wini, who was trailing Sam for most of the heat, scored a 7.0 ride securing the win.
The crowd was ecstatic for Wini, who dedicated the win to all of the locals that supported her during the event.

'I am so stoked to win at home. Thanks to all the local crew from the North Coast Boardriders, and especially my whanau for supporting me,” she said.
She finished the heat with an 11.77 combined heat score ahead of Suendermann on 10.87. Molly Powell managed to pick off a number of low scoring rides with her best a 4.83, backed up with a 4.0.

She finished in third place ahead of Tauranga's Ann Snyder in fourth with a total heat score of 4.40.
The over 50 men's division saw an intense tussle between 2011 Hyundai Tour champion Mike Thomson and newcomer Mark Hoyle from Orewa.

Mike is a veteran competitor and showed his experience scoring some solid six point plus rides.
But it was the former South African Veterans' Champion who picked off a long right hander scoring a 7.43 taking the lead half way through the final.

Mark did a long, driving soul arch bottom turn finishing off the wave with a big vertical re-entry.

From this point on the other surfers in the heat were playing catch-up. He ended the heat with a combined wave score of 14.26 out of 20.

'That wave seemed to go forever. I was pretty happy to get some good rides. It was a lot of hard work out there, I'm absolutely shattered,” he said after the completion of the final.

Grant Cochrane from Christchurch managed one 6.33 scoring ride, but came unstuck on a couple of critical turns, placing third ahead of Aucklander David Storck in fourth place.
A late start to the day didn't hinder Paul Browne from Orewa from scoring some great long right-handers in the straight final of the over 60 men's division.

Paul's top scoring ride, a 5.0, saw him take an early lead in the heat, and after backing it up with a 4.37, his opponents couldn't catch up.

Paul, who celebrated his 40^th wedding anniversary this weekend, thanked his wife for her continued support during his long competitive surfing career.

Fellow Orewa Longboard Club member Rob Bayes showed some good form in the final picking off a solid set wave to score a 4.33, but couldn't manage the 5.24 required to take the lead finishing in second place.

Only 0.20 points separated third from fourth place and it was Dave Gould from Auckland who eventually beat local surfer Laurie Landgridge who finished in fourth place.
Daniel Kereopa from Raglan smashed his opponents out of the water to win his second event of the 2012 Hyundai Tour in the stand up paddleboard division.

Current national champion Shayne Baxter from Christchurch had the initial lead with a couple of great scoring rides, but Daniel stole the lead midway through the heat with a barnstorming 7.33 ride, following it up with a 7.73 to win the final.
Daniel, who is a Hyundai Ambassador, showed the form that has seen him win multiple events since the sup division was introduced to the tour.
Shayne was in catch-up mode for the remainder of the final, finishing out with an 11.36 combined heat score.

Third place went to Armie Armstrong from Raglan ahead of Karlos Aarsen from Whangamata.

ASP Open Men's LQS Final Results:
1st Taylor Jensen (USA) 17.35, 2^nd Mitch Surman (Australia) 16.50, 3^rd Thomas Kibblewhite 14.20, 4^th Jared Neal (Australia) 11.85

Junior Men's Final Results:
1^st Nic Jones (Australia) 15.17, 2^nd Paul Moretti (Mimiwhangata) 11.73, 3^rd Sam Poulter (Raglan) 11.10, 4^th Luke Crouch (Orewa) 5.37

Open Women's Final Results:
1^st Wini Paul (Sandy Bay) 11.77, 2^nd Sam Suendermann (Australia) 10.87, 3^rd Molly Powell (Australia) 8.83, 4^th Ann Snyder (Tauranga) 4.40

Over 40 Men's Division Final Results:
1^st Brian Young (Orewa) 13.66, 2^nd Guy Rencher (Papamoa) 9.10, 3^rd Tatana Heke (Mount Maunganui) 7.66, 4^th Rhys Powell (Omaha) 7.13

Over 50 Men's Final Results:
1^st Mark Hoyle (Orewa) 14.26, 2^nd Mike Thompson (Raglan) 12.77, 3^rd Grant Cochrane (Christchurch) 9.06, 4^th David Storck (Piha) 6.80

Over 60 Men's Final Results:
1^st Paul Browne (Orewa) 9.57, 2^nd Rob Bayes (Orewa) 8.10, 3^rd Dave Gould (?) 5.40, 4^th Laurie Landgridge (Sandy Bay) 5.20

SUP Final Results:
1^st Daniel Kereopa (Raglan) 15.06, 2^nd Shayne Baxter (Christchurch) 11.36, 3^rd Armie Armstrong (Raglan) 7.17, 4^th Karlos Aarsen (Whangamata) 7.03