SATURDAY JULY 22, 2006<\/p>\n
BILLABONG PRO
\nJEFFREYS BAY, SOUTH AFRICA
\nJULY 12 \u0096 22, 2006<\/p>\n
Live on www.aspworldtour.com and www.billabongpro.com<\/p>\n
After surfing a tremendous final in outstanding waves Mick Fanning (AUS) has defeated Taj Burrow (AUS) to win the 2006 edition of the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay. <\/p>\n
The event, the sixth on the Foster\u0092s ASP Men\u0092s World Tour, earlier in the week was plagued by small and inconsistent swell but this morning organisers and competitors awoke to extra-clean one to 1.5 metre (three to four feet) J-Bay lines and from the first heat on the action was nothing short of spectacular.The final itself was an incredibly exciting affair with the lead swapping and changing as the two friends went blow for blow on some amazing waves.<\/p>\n
But in the end it was Fanning\u0092s day as he executed some searing carves and huge floaters to score an 8.73 with four minutes to go \u0096 which eventually scored him the win.<\/p>\n
With Burrow sitting out in the lineup on his own with three minutes remaining many were having flashbacks to last year when Kelly Slater (USA) caught a wave on the bell to come back to defeat Andy Irons (HAW) by posting a near perfect score. <\/p>\n
The same scenario was prevalent today and when a set pushed through Burrow launched into a wave that potentially could have delivered the 8.41 he required to take back the lead. <\/p>\n
But after a few turns Burrow fell thus handing the win to a jubilant Fanning who was buzzing at being back on the podium for the first time this year after a slow start to the season.<\/p>\n
\u0093I had a really weird start to the year,\u0094 said Fanning. \u0093I was surfing really well but nothing ever came together. Today and the last few days have just really seemed to go my way so I\u0092m stoked.\u0094<\/p>\n
In the dying moments of the heat Fanning revealed the nerves and the memories of last year\u0092s final had him rattled.<\/p>\n
\u0093The wave Taj caught\u0085 I looked at the wave and I thought \u0091aw no, this just things have just got bad\u0092 and lucky for me he fell on the inside and I just ended up on top,\u0094 said Fanning.<\/p>\n
Fanning was also hoping that the win would now kick-start a solid second half to the season.<\/p>\n
\u0093I usually do all right from here on in,\u0094 said Fanning. \u0093But we\u0092ll just see what happens. I\u0092m feeling really fit and my surfing has been good all year. It\u0092s just been a lucky break here or there.\u0094<\/p>\n
Burrow meanwhile was lamenting about the one that got away.<\/p>\n
\u0093It was there for the taking,\u0094 said Burrow \u0093We both had an 8.0, then he got that 8.73 at the end. I only needed an 8.4 and it was pretty sick J-Bay, so I could have got the score. But I just took one and fell and I was all flustered then I took another one and I really wasn\u0092t calmed down enough and I did a couple of turns and then I stacked it. <\/p>\n
\u0093I had a chance and I can\u0092t blame anyone but myself. But it was good, it was good to be there and it\u0092s good to make some ground on the other guys at the top of the ratings. And yeah, congrats to Mick \u0096 he earned it, he was ripping.\u0094<\/p>\n
With the second place Burrow has leapt into second place on the ratings and is now in a prime position to strike at his first world crown.<\/p>\n
\u0093This has just made me hungry to win an event, that\u0092s for sure,\u0094 said Burrow. \u0093It\u0092s kept my world title hunger alive. It\u0092s been a great event for me. I can catch him [Slater] for sure. There\u0092s a few events coming up that I feel comfortable in so I\u0092m looking to win one and hopefully take out the big guy.\u0094<\/p>\n
Finishing equal third in the event was Slater who throughout the event showed glimpses of his best form. <\/p>\n
The seven-time Foster\u0092s ASP Men\u0092s World Tour champion had to miss the Fiji event due to incurring a rib injury while claiming victory at event two at Bells Beach back in April.<\/p>\n
Since returning to the tour he has yet to really show the unbelievable form he is capable of.<\/p>\n
Also coming in third was wildcard Jordy Smith (ZAF) who with the full crowd support demolished a host of seasoned pros then went within a whisker of claiming an upset over Burrow in semifinal two. <\/p>\n
Landing what was possibly the manoeuvre of the event \u0096 a huge aerial into a floater \u0096 the 18-year-old truly let the surfing world know that he is here to stay and his result equaled the highest ever placing of a South African in a top tour event. <\/p>\n
\u0093It feels great,\u0094 said a beaming Smith. \u0093I would have loved to make the final but unfortunately my run had to stop there. Unfortunately it didn\u0092t go my way this year, but I\u0092m still really stoked with a third place in my first top tour event ever.\u0094<\/p>\n
The result has given the youngster inspiration to try harder on the ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) so he can gain a permanent slot in the draw against the best of the best.<\/p>\n
\u0093I\u0092d love to make the tour,\u0094 said Smith \u0093Unfortunately the WQS is held in poorer quality waves but maybe in two years I hope be mixing with these guys on a regular basis.\u0094<\/p>\n
Given that the crowd were behind him right throughout the event Smith hoped that in the not too distant future he could reward them for their support with a victory.<\/p>\n
\u0093I definitely heard the crowd out there and it just sent shivers up my spine,\u0094 said Smith. \u0093It gets you super amped for the next turn, and if I was in the final I would have asked them to keep it up, so thanks to the crowd. To win in front of my home crowd\u0085 that would be amazing.\u0094<\/p>\n
The top 10 Foster\u0092s ASP Men\u0092s World Tour ratings has changed somewhat after this event with Fanning and Tom Whitaker moving in at the expense of Bruce Irons (HAW) and CJ Hobgood (USA). Burrow has shifted to second with Andy Irons (HAW) dropping to third and Bobby Martinez (USA) to fourth.<\/p>\n
The tour now has a six-week break before resuming in California on September 12 for the Boost Mobile Pro.<\/p>\n
Check www.billabongpro.com or www.aspworldtour.com for comprehensive heat by heat outlines, audio downloads and athlete quotes. <\/p>\n
Round four results:<\/p>\n
Heat 1: Mick Fanning (AUS) 15.83 def Greg Emslie (ZAF) 7.83
\nHeat 2: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 12.83 def Joel Parkinson (AUS) 12.50
\nHeat 3: Peterson Rosa (BRA) 15.33 def Phil Macdonald (AUS) 13.50
\nHeat 4: Kelly Slater (USA) 17.16 def Nathan Hedge (AUS) 11.17
\nHeat 5: Taj Burrow (AUS) 18.34 def Pancho Sullivan (HAW) 10.83
\nHeat 6: Tom Whitaker (AUS) 16.83 def Danny Wills (AUS) 15.17
\nHeat 7: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.83 def Travis Logie (ZAF) 10.33
\nHeat 8: Tim Reyes (USA) 14. 67 def Mark Occhilupo (AUS) 14.67<\/p>\n
Quarterfinal results:<\/p>\n
Quarterfinal 1: Mick Fanning (AUS) 12.33 def Peterson Rosa (BRA) 9.30
\nQuarterfinal 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 15.34 def Peterson Rosa (BRA) 13.97
\nQuarterfinal 3: Taj Burrow (AUS) 17.50 def Tom Whitaker (AUS) 12.50
\nQuarterfinal 4: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 18.00 def Tim Reyes (USA) 13.66<\/p>\n
Semifinal results:<\/p>\n
Semifinal 1: Mick Fanning (AUS) 16.90 def Kelly Slater (USA) 14.50
\nSemifinal 2: Taj Burrow (AUS) 15.67 def Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.17<\/p>\n
Final:
\nMick Fanning (AUS) 16.90 def Taj Burrow (AUS) 16.00<\/p>\n
Current Top 10 Ratings After Event 6 \u0096 The Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay<\/p>\n
1. Kelly Slater (USA)\t\t5109
\n2. Taj Burrow (AUS)\t\t\t4682
\n3. Andy Irons (HAW)\t\t4365
\n4. Bobby Martinez (USA) \t4233
\n5. Taylor Knox (USA)\t\t4060
\n6. Damien Hobgood (USA) \t3767
\n7. Joel Parkinson (AUS) \t3652
\n8. Mick Fanning (AUS)\t\t3577
\n9. Tim Reyes (USA)\t\t\t3575
\n10. Tom Whitaker (AUS)\t\t3299<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SATURDAY JULY 22, 2006 BILLABONG PRO JEFFREYS BAY, SOUTH AFRICA JULY 12 \u0096 22, 2006 Live on www.aspworldtour.com and www.billabongpro.com After surfing a tremendous final in outstanding waves Mick Fanning (AUS) has defeated Taj Burrow (AUS) to win the 2006 edition of the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay. The event, the sixth on the Foster\u0092s ASP … Continue reading “MICK FANNING WINS BILLABONG PRO JEFFREYS BAY”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[24],"class_list":["post-13498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-asp-surfing-news","tag-surfing-news-archive"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13498"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13498\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}