Patri McLaughlin will be trying to sew up the Kite Surf Pro World Tour season championship in the fourth and final event of the season, which could begin today at Hookipa Beach Park.
McLaughlin, a Kihei resident who was raised in Haiku, leads the series standings going into the Hookipa Kite Surf Pro.
"Hopefully I can do well," the 23-year-old said. "You never know what's going to happen in a contest."
Article Photos
Patri McLaughlin has shared first place or won outright at all three of the Kite Surf Pro World Tour’s previous stops this season.
Kite Surf Pro World Tour / John Bilderback photo
McLaughlin won the only previous tour event this year that had conditions in place long enough to decide an outright winner - the One Eye Kite Surf Pro, held off the coast of the the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius in September.
He shared first place at last month's Aer Lingus Kite Surf Pro in Ireland, and the season-opening stop in Portugal.
His 2,160 total points leave him 115 in front of Italy's Airton Cozzolino. Sebeastian Ribeiro of Brazil is another 95 points back. Cozzolino and Ribeiro also earned shares of the Ireland and Portugal titles.
The holding period at Hookipa runs through Dec. 8.
"I'm just going to try to be relaxed out there," McLaughlin said. "Being relaxed has a lot to do with it. If you don't get all stressed, you're probably going to do better."
