Surfers competing at the Hurley U.S. Open are not only out to claim the huge prize purse on offer, but are also hunting for the valuable ratings points towards a berth on the 2010 ASP World Tour.

Nathaniel Curran breaks down his first man-on-man heat on the 2009 Dream Tour against good friend and fellow Californian Dane Reynolds, his plans for the Bells event, his custom car themed Web site, and answers some creepy questions from Chris.

Name: Nathaniel Curran Stance: Regular Hometown: Ventura, California, USA D.O.B.: August 6, 1984 (age: 24) Height: 5’8” Weight: 152 lbs. Sponsors: Alpinestars clothing, Macbeth footwear, Al Merrick surfboards, Revolution surf shop, and Famous wax. Car Buff: Nathaniel is an obsessed car fanatic, he even has a car Web site about customized cars called clutchrides.com. Portrait: [...]

Nathaniel Curran, 24, claimed the 2009 ASP WQS 4-Star O'Neill Sebastian Inlet Pro presented by Ron Jon title today over fellow finalists, Aaron Cormican, 26, Blake Jones, 20, and Cory Lopez, 31, in peaky two-to-four foot conditions.

The 24-year-old surfer hailing from Oxnard, California was the first ASP WQS solider to qualify for the 2009 ASP Dream Tour and now the explosive regular-footer will look to finish the season on a positive note while preparing for next year’s ASP World Tour campaign.—Interview courtesy of ASP North America

Since it's hitting your mailboxes this week, and landing on newsstands 9/23, we figured we'd give all you webheads a preview of what's in store for this issue. Cali Rally madness, Reef's ballin' trip to Mex, Behind The Lines at J-Bay, Nathaniel's big US Open win, plus much more. And check out the rad cover, and let us know what you think.

We checked in with Al Hunt [WQS tour manager] and got the word, that yep, it's official: we’ll be seeing Nathaniel Curran on next years’ dream tour. Huge congrats NC! Interview by Casey Koteen.

Congratulations go out to Tim Boal of France for a great win over fellow Frenchman Joan Duru at the ASP WQS 5-Star Rip Curl Pro in Zarautz on the Basque coast of Spain. Tim’s win has pushed his points to 11,888, which should be more than enough to see him qualify for the Dream Tour in 2009.

Nathaniel Curran (Oxnard, CA), 24, continued to shine over some of the world’s finest surfers once again this week at the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Qualifying Series (WQS) 6-Star Prime event, the Rip Curl Pro Presented by Sprite, held in Hossegor, France and continues to improve upon his ratings lead over the field.

Top seeds were greeted with perfect four foot (1.2 meter) barrels and off-shore winds when Round 2 resumed today, Les Bourdaines delivering some of the best conditions of the summer for Day 4 of the Rip Curl Pro pres. by Sprite.

It was a short day of competition on Day 3 of the waiting period of the Rip Curl Pro pres. by Sprite as four heats only were done this morning getting the ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) 6-Star Prime event to its second round.

We are arriving at a critical passage for this years Men’s ASP WQS. For decades, the French leg has been the make it or break it phase of the season, and even though there are a bunch of high-rated events staged before August these days, the Euro leg is where the true contenders emerge.

Nathaniel Curran (Ca, USA), 24, won the ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) 6-Star Sooruz Lacanau Pro today in wind-blown two to three foot (0.5 to 1 meter) waves after defeating Dion Atkinson (AUS) in an exciting 35-minute final closing six days of great action at the famous French town of Lacanau Ocean.

Top seeds and barrels attracted massive crowds for Day 3 of the ASP WQS 6-Star Sooruz Lacanau Pro and it was another marathon day with 25 heats wrapped up in clean four to five foot (1.2 to 1.5 meter) waves.

Dustin Cuizon (HAW) has defeated Pedro Henrique (BRA) to claim the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Qualifying Series (WQS) 6-Star Yumeya Billabong Pro Tahara in one-to-two foot (0.5 metre) waves at Akabane Long Beach today.