Leading up to the 2016 World Surf League Championship Tour season, I will be counting down my projected Top 10 surfers for the highest level of men's competitive surfing. A preview of the women's 2016 season is also to come.
John John Florence, Hawaii
2016 Go Left World Ranking Projection: 2
2015 World Ranking: 14
2015 WCT Wins: 0
I’ll start by saying that John John is my favorite surfer on
tour, and I’m doing my best not to be biased. Some people will see his 2015
ranking of 14th and think ranking him second for 2016 is crazy, but
remember that it was just a year ago that Florence finished the season third in
the World Rankings. There is no doubt that 2015 was a disappointing year for
John, though. A midseason injury that forced him to miss a pair of events (one
of them being Fiji, where he is always a contender) was partially to blame, but the only
final Florence made was at Margaret River. In fact, that was the only event
that saw John John reach a semifinal. All that being said, Florence could very
well be the most talented surfer on the World Tour, so I wouldn’t be able to
sleep at night knowing that I ranked him any lower.
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| This could be the year of John John Florence. Courtesy of chde.eu |
I’m expecting big things from John John in 2016. It's been reported that he's more motivated to win a World Title than ever, and his win at The Eddie may serve as foreshadowing for a multitude of victories on the CT. Florence is good enough to win in any
conditions, and if he locks in on heat strategy a little more this season he
could win it all. No matter what, I will be excited every time John John hits
the water, a sentiment I imagine plenty of surfers share.
Follow Morgan, founder of Go Left, on Twitter @GoLeftSurf
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