Aussie teen surfer rules Siargao Cup

MANILA, Philippines - Sixteen-year old Australian surfing sensation Sandon Whittaker pulled off an upset over local favorites to snatch top honors and bring home $8,000 in the recent Siargao International Surfing Cup held at Cloud 9 in Gen. Luna, Surigao del Norte.

Gaining 1,500 points to move up in the international rankings to the Championship Tour, he edged defending champion John Mark Tokong and local favorite Philmar Alipayo, and a 62-man field from Australia, the United States, Hawaii, Brazil, Indonesia, France, Mexico, Chile, Ecuador, Israel and New Zealand.

Alipayo, top winner of West Sumbawa Pro 2016 held last July in Bali, bagged runner-up honors.

Aussies Shane Holmes and Mitchell Parkinson shared third place. Aussie Jordan Lawler, perennial winner Piso Alcala of Siargao, Skip McCullough and Mitchell James of the US settled for fifth.

Sanctioned by the World Surf League (WSL) and the Asian Surfing Championships (ASC), the tournament is a qualifying series  (QS) 1500 event.

The ASC gave the Cup a 6-star surfing ranking in 2014, making it one of the qualifying stops for the Asian Circuit, giving Siargao the rating of ASP- World Qualifying series 1 Star and ASC Grade 6, ASC tour’s highest rating.

Situated on the Pacific seaboard of Surigao del Norte, Cloud 9 surfing spot is listed as eighth in the World’s Top 50 Best Surf Spots of CNNGo, the travel news website of the Cable News Network.

The event is presented by the Department of Tourism in partnership with the Municipality of Gen. Luna, the Province of Surigao del Norte, and House of Representatives-Congressional Office, and co-presented by Siargao Bleu Resort and Spa, and Silangan Mining Corp.

It is also supported by Globe, Kudosurf, Nature’s Spring, and the Siargao Tourism Development Council (STDC).