Bud Tour’s Bridesmaid Waltzes Off With U.S. Championship

Rob Machado, the 20-year-old Wunderkind from Cardiff, didn’t make the finals Sunday in Ventura, but he scored enough points in early rounds of the U.S. Bud Tour championships to become the new U.S. surfing champion.

Carlsbad’s Taylor Knox, ranked No. 2 behind Machado, failed to advance beyond his first heat at Ventura, the final Bud Tour contest of the year, giving Machado his first U.S. title.

Machado, who was second on last year’s tour to San Clemente’s Shane Beschen, was the winner despite never having captured any of the tour’s 10 contests.

Rockin’ Fig said Machado, an outstanding small-wave shredder, showed a lot of grit in making it to at least seven contest finals.

It shows that he is consistent, Fig said. It shows that you don’t have to win an event and can rack up enough points to win an overall championship and be No. 1.

“This is it; it all paid off right here,” a jubilant Machado said after finishing up in Ventura’s three-foot waves. “Last year, I got second on the tour, and I’m the kind of surfer that never sets goals for myself. I just try and go out there and do my best. So I’m just pleased.”

It’s been a long season, he said, one that had him competing at least every other week in the United States and abroad in Assn. of Surfing Professionals (ASP) contests.

“I surfed in 10 Bud Tour contests and another 10 or 11 ASP contests and a few others. In all, it must have been 25 contests or so,” Machado said. “In March, I kicked off the year surfing for a whole month at different contests in Australia.”

You finished high in a lot of contests, Rob, but never first.

“Yeah, but it’s better than last,” Machado said, laughing. “Actually, I had a string of being No. 2 five times this year. That means I was in the finals more often than not.”

Best contest?

“That had to be Seaside,” near Encinitas, “my home break. When I can, I surf there every day when I’m not traveling. I took second to Jeff Booth (of Laguna Beach). That was probably my best contest, when things were coming together for me.”

Machado, who started surfing when he was 11, credits his parents, Jim and Chris Machado, for their support. The Machados travel with their son. It’s a mobile fan club that began nine years ago, Rob’s mom said.

In many ways, Figgy said, Machado’s achievement is as much his parents,’ who share their son’s joy.

The thing with Machado is that his dad surfed, his uncle surfed and a lot of people in his family surf. He learned a lot from those guys. It just continued with his parents’ helping out and supporting his surfing. A lot of pro surfers don’t get that kind of support.

Jim Machado, 52, who coaches a national amateur surfing team, said he and his wife may have planted the competitive seed but that they let their son develop his own competitive edge.

“That’s up to him,” Jim Machado said. “I remember Bjorn Borg, the tennis player, saying that he used to hit tennis balls every day, and that’s kind of like Rob. He used to play soccer. At home, while Chris and I would sit on our couch enjoying a movie on TV, Rob would kick the ball against our couch hundreds of times and drive us crazy.”

Then, there was the contest.

“They were going to have the Bud Tour contest at Seaside one year,” Jim Machado recalled. “Well, I told Rob, let’s go and have him enter one heat and let’s see how he does and go from there. He wins the first heat. Then he won his third and fourth. Nine heats later, he made it to the finals! And he was only 14 years old.” After that contest, Jim told his son, “Look, if you want to become a surfer and compete, we’ll support you.”

What made Rob Machado’s year extra special was that his parents celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary by accompanying Machado to contests in France and Spain.

As for Machado’s victory, it’s a stepping stone, Fig said.

Machado’s future is very bright, and he’s only going to develop further. Machado’s going to be a threat on the world tour for probably the next 10 years. years. Currently, he’s rated 6th in the ASP and has a shot at the world title.

*

After Machado, the Bud Tour’s top five breaks down to Santa Barbara’s Chris Brown, followed by Taylor Knox of Carlsbad, Jeff Deffenbaugh of Huntington Beach and Richie Collins of Newport Beach.

Brown took home $4,000 in winning the Ventura contest, throwing some killer cutbacks. Deffenbaugh came in second, and Tim Curran, an explosive 16-year-old amateur from Oxnard, grabbed third.

Forecast: Nothing big looms on the horizon, but a southwest swell will hold, with waves mostly in the waist- to shoulder-high range, according to Surfline/Wavetrak. Northwesterly winds should make Friday interesting with a stronger wind swell.