TOP SEEDS SMASH TRICKY CONDITIONS AT DAY THREE OF THE OAKLEY NEWPORT BEACH PRO PRESENTED BY JEEP®

DANA POINT, Calif. (Sept. 20, 2007) – The top seeds in the Oakley Newport Beach Pro presented by Jeep excelled in punchy two-to-three foot peaks today, posting some of the highest scores of the event as Round 4 narrowed the men’s draw down to the final 32.

Although conditions appeared bleak before competition got underway, the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Qualifying Series (WQS) two-star event, the second of the on the 2007 Macy’s California Trifecta Surf Series presented by Jeep (an ASP North America Specialty Series), enjoyed rapidly improving surf throughout the morning which set the stage for Round 4 action.

Nathan Yeomans (San Clemente, CA), defending Newport Beach Pro Champion and reigning Macy’s California Trifecta Champion, made his presence felt this morning netting the event high heat total of a 16.25 out of a possible 20. Despite a slow start, the powerful goofy-footer got things underway with full-rail surfing and explosive finishes on his forehand.

“It was a pretty slow start out there for me,” Yeomans said. “I finally got into a rhythm about midway through and was able to drop a few scores. The waves can be tricky on the low tide and fortunately things came together there for me towards the end.”

Yeomans is currently ranked No. 67 on the ASP WQS following his seventh-place finish at the biggest event of the season in France and the San Clemente phenom will look to put his momentum to good use as he comes up against a top-notch draw in this week’s Oakley Newport Beach Pro presented by Jeep.

“I’m coming off one of my best results at the Super Series in France,” Yeomans said. “It’s always good to come do this event because it keeps you sharp. The competition is all there and it’s good to go hard against these guys. There are a ton of good guys in the draw from Dustin (Barca) and Jason (Miller) to guys like Nathaniel (Curran). Hopefully I can keep the momentum going and repeat last year’s result.”

Nathaniel Curran (Oxnard, CA), last year’s runner-up on the Macy’s California Trifecta Surf Series presented by Jeep, has recently recovered from a shoulder injury, and the progressive natural-footer looked solid in his Round 4 performance today.

“I’ve been steadily working my way back into the swing of things,” Curran said. “I suffered a pretty bad shoulder injury at Supertubes by my house and had to have surgery. So I was out of the water for a while, but I’m fully healed and working my way back through the process. My boards feel good and I’m hoping to put up a solid result here.”

Following the completion of Round 4 of the Oakley NB Pro presented by Jeep, the opening round of the ASP Grade-2 Oakley Pro Junior got underway with some solid surfing from the top field of international junior talent.
The second-to-last ASP North America Pro Junior event of ’07, the ASP Grade-2 Oakley Pro Junior will prove pivotal in the ratings race to see who qualifies for January’s Billabong ASP World Junior Championships.

Standouts in Round 1 of Oakley Pro Junior competition included Kyle Ramey (HI) and Jamie Parkhurst (San Clemente, CA) who notched up the highest scores of the afternoon with solid surfing on the reeling lefthanders.

Tomorrow will see the completion of Round 5 of the Oakley Newport Beach Pro presented by Jeep before jumping straight into ASP Grade-2 Oakley Pro Junior action, narrowing the prodigious youngsters down to the final four, which will compete on Sunday.

The event is being webcast LIVE at www.newportbeachpro.com

Forecast from official event forecaster WaveWatch – Friday (9/21)
The storm front will begin pushing slowly through the area helping to increase S-SW winds into the 10-15 knot range and bringing along some scattered showers and possible thunderstorms late in the day (and into Saturday).  Surf will be a mix of S-SW swell and increasing local windswell. Wave heights will be in the waist-shoulder high range. Since this storm is mostly in the upper-levels of the atmosphere, winds along the surface are going to be erratic. Expect the consistent S-SW flow, but watch for pockets of both cleaner (and junkier) surf to spring up at times. Similar conditions are expected on Saturday. The storm is expected to finish moving through the area on Sunday. We will also have a stronger mix of S-SW swell and new tropical SE moving into the region through Saturday, eventually peaking on Sunday.

About Oakley, Inc.
Oakley, Inc. designs, manufactures and distributes high-performance sunglasses, prescription lenses and frames, goggles and technology-enabled eyewear that utilize the company's High Definition Optics® (HDO®), a collective platform of patented technologies that offer unbeatable optical performance. The company also produces technical and active apparel, footwear and accessories. For more information, please visit the company’s Web site at www.oakley.com.

About the Jeep Brand
The Jeep brand has expanded to seven models in the 2007 model year, the most available to retail consumers at one time in the brand’s 66-year history. With the introduction of the all-new 2008 Jeep Liberty mid-size sport-utility vehicle (SUV), Jeep offers customers the freshest, most capable and widest range of sport-utility vehicles under one brand in the industry. At the start of 2004, the brand’s trio of tough, capable, rugged SUVs included the venerable Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jeep Liberty (Cherokee outside North America) and the icon of the brand, the Jeep Wrangler. In 2005, the Jeep Commander was introduced. In 2006, the redesigned Jeep Wrangler was unveiled. Also debuting in calendar year 2006 were three more all-new Jeep vehicles: Jeep Patriot, Jeep Compass and the four-door Jeep Wrangler Unlimited.

About PRIMEDIA'S Action Sports Group
Reaching more than two million enthusiasts, PRIMEDIA's Action Sports Group (ASG) is the dominant force in the action sports and adventure sports arenas. In addition to publishing leading lifestyle publications such as SURFER, SURFING, Snowboarder, Skateboarder, Bike, Powder and Canoe & Kayak, PRIMEDIA ASG delivers a cutting-edge network of online properties, events and television programming.

About Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP)
The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the governing body of professional surfing. Crowning surfing’s undisputed world champions since 1976 (formerly as IPS), the ASP sanctions the following tours: the Foster’s ASP Men’s World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, the World Qualifying Series (WQS) and the World Longboarding, Junior and Masters Championships. The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world's best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Japan, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America. These regions manage all their respective domestic affairs under the guidance of ASP International, which is located on the Gold Coast of Australia. ASP International and ASP North America are committed to the progression of surfing and are dedicated to continuing excellent relationships with their surfers, event operators, sponsors and media. For more information: www.aspworldtour.com or www.aspnorthamerica.org.