Andy Irons won the Billabong Pro as most of us would have been eating breakfast. On the last day of the waiting period there were some nice wave, if a little windy and small. However there were plenty of little barrels and Kelly Slater got yet another 10 in his quarter final and the wave deserved every point with him taking off late under the lip, freefalling, almost losing balance and then slotting deep and long. He even looked back after coming out clean.
Andy was a deserved winner after surfing well all event and getting through some close heats after losing in round one. I've never rated AI. His stance is ugly and his feet are to far apart, he claims to often and was consistently over scored during his world champ years. He has then had the advantage of a guaranteed wildcard after his contest hiatus, something that wasn't extended to Tom Curren, Occy or Slater. However he has been working very hard with Parko and his trainer to get back in the game and his wife is pregnant. In what looked like an honest pre-event interview and in his interview with GT in the channel after the final, Andy showed a new maturity and self-awareness that wasn't there in the past. In the past he has been huge in the Europe and Hawaiian legs so at number 7 he is still in the title hunt. However he is already carrying his throw away events and can't afford any slip ups.
Slater has jumped up to second while Taj stays at third and Jordy at one.The tour has been trimmed in size with the two "injury wildcards" announced today. Kierran Perrow and Gabe Kling will stay on tour due to their early season injuries. We can also expect to continue to see Tom Whitaker and Dean Morrison for most of the rest of the season as a replacement for Parko, who isn't expected back before Hawaii and Kai Otten who has a serious spine injury.
The next event is in the US at Trestles. Not long to wait as it starts on the 12th.
BILLABONG PRO TAHITI FINAL RESULTS:
1 – Andy Irons (HAW) 14.67
2 – C.J. Hobgood (USA) 8.33
BILLABONG PRO TAHITI SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
SF 1: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 15.00 def. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 12.93
SF 2: Andy Irons (HAW) 13.57 def. Kelly Slater (USA) 10.26
BILLABONG PRO TAHITI QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
QF 1: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 14.53 def. Tiago Pires (PRT) 6.23
QF 2: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 11.80 def. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 11.33
QF 3: Kelly Slater (USA) 18.67 def. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 12.77
QF 4: Andy Irons (HAW) 16.44 def. Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 11.00
BILLABONG PRO TAHITI ROUND 4 RESULTS:
Heat 1: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 13.50 def. Dane Reynolds (USA) 9.67
Heat 2: Tiago Pires (PRT) 14.83 def. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 12.83
Heat 3: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 10.00 def. Owen Wright (AUS) 1.10
Heat 4: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 10.00 def. Manoa Drollet (PYF) 5.37
Heat 5: Kelly Slater (USA) 17.70 def. Adam Melling (AUS) 8.43
Heat 6: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 16.67 def. Michel Bourez (PYF) 8.83
Heat 7: Andy Irons (HAW) 14.17 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) 14.07
Heat 8: Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 17.00 def. Damien Hobgood (USA) 13.66
CURRENT ASP WORLD TITLE RACE TOP 5 (After Billabong Pro Tahiti)
1 – Jordy Smith (ZAF) 30,250 pts
2 – Kelly Slater (USA) 30,000 pts
3 – Taj Burrow (AUS) 25,250 pts
4 – Dane Reynolds (USA) 23,750 pts
5 – Adriano de Souza (BRA) 23,250 pts
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