Surfing Event to Begin Today

Craig Comen of Huntington Beach and Mike Lambresi of Carlsbad head the field for the $55,000 Body Glove Surf Bout, which runs today through Sunday at Salt Creek Beach Park.

Competition will get under way each day at 7 a.m., with the finals scheduled to begin Sunday at noon.

Comen, the defending Salt Creek champion, and Lambresi, the Professional Surfing Assn. of America champion last year, are among the field of 168 surfers hoping to win the $20,000 first prize.

Organizers say it will be the biggest first-place purse ever awarded. Second place is worth $6,000, and third $3,000.

The surfers also will be seeking tour points, which determine the U.S. championship. The champion will earn 1,000 points, the second-place finisher 900 and the third-place finisher 810.

A bodyboarding competition with a $2,000 first-place purse also will be held.