Paige Hareb to do it hard way in California

ROBERT CHARLES/Fairfax NZ

MAKING WAVES: NZ surfer Paige Hareb.

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Top New Zealand women's surfer Paige Hareb will have to get through the US Open in California the hard way after dropping her first round heat today.

Needing a good result in the final Dream Tour event of the year to consolidate her place on next year's tour, Hareb finished last in her three woman heat at Huntington Beach today.

In small, clean surf, 10th ranked Hareb totalled 10.56 (out of 20) for her two best waves.

That left her behind Australian Sally Fitzgibbons (13.93) and Brazil's Jaqueline Silva (12.87).

Hareb now faces a sudden death second round heat and needs to win that to bring some comfort to her ranking situation with the top 10 automatically retained for 2013.

Gisborne's Jay Quinn was eliminated from the men's draw today after working his way through to the last 48.

Quinn surfed a solid heat in the round of 96 to finish second to 11-time world champion Kelly Slater (US).

Slater scored 15.70 with Quinn recording 12.70 to eliminate Hawaii’s Torrey Meister (12.37) and American Chris Ward (11.57).

But Quinn found himself a victim of fading conditions in the afternoon, finishing last in his next heat, struggling to get any quality waves. Quinn totalled 9.80 in a four-man heat won by young Brazilian Jesse Mendes (16.17).

- © Fairfax NZ News