![\"Andy](\"http:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/uploads\/76ad525f-3f9c-0b00.jpg\")
\nPictured: Andy Irons (HAW), 32, past three-time ASP World Champion, collected his 20th elite tour victory today, besting C.J. Hobgood (USA), 31, to claim the Billabong Pro Tahiti. Credit: \u00a9 ASP \/ ROBERTSON<\/p>\n
Billabong Pro Tahiti pres. By Air Tahiti Nui
\nStop No. 5 of 10 on the 2010 ASP World Tour
\nTeahupoo, Taiarapu\/Tahiti
\nAugust 23 \u2013 September 3, 2010<\/p>\n
Andy Irons Wins Billabong Pro Tahiti, Slater Moves to ASP World No. 2<\/p>\n
\nPictured: Andy Irons (HAW), 32, past three-time ASP World Champion, collected his 20th elite tour victory today, besting C.J. Hobgood (USA), 31, to claim the Billabong Pro Tahiti. Credit: \u00a9 ASP \/ ROBERTSON<\/p>\n
TEAHUPOO, Taiarapu\/Tahiti (Friday, September 3, 2010) \u2013 Andy Irons (HAW), 32, past three-time ASP World Champion, has won the Billabong Pro Tahiti, besting C.J. Hobgood (USA), 31, in an explosive Final clash in three-to-four foot (1.5 metre) waves at Teahupoo.<\/p>\n
The fifth stop on the 2010 ASP World Tour, the Billabong Pro Tahiti culminated in climactic fashion today, on the final day of the waiting period.<\/p>\n
The emphatic victory marks Irons\u2019 20th at the elite level of competition, and the Hawaiian was emotional when regarding his first win in over three years (won Rip Curl Pro Search Chile 2007).\u201cI did it!\u201d Irons exclaimed. \u201cI surf because I have to put my jersey on some time. I took a lot of losses, but I put in the hard work too. I dedicate this win 100% to my wife, Lindy, she is everything to me and without her, I\u2019d be nothing. I really, really like competing because I love to win and I feel on top of the world today. I surf because I love to win. I love this feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Irons, who bested reigning ASP World Champion Mick Fanning (AUS), 29, lethal rookie Patrick Gudauskas (USA), 24, and past nine-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater (USA), 38, en route to the Final, opened up with a massive, freefall wipeout before utilizing his unparalleled backhand tube-riding skills to net a 14.67 out of a possible 20 and collect the win.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe (Hobgood) paddled me inside and caught the first wave,\u201d Irons said. \u201cThe next wave was better and I just fell out of the sky. I thought my board was going to break. It has two buckles on it already. I just went after it out there. C.J. is so dangerous here. I knew he would be getting tens or twos, and I was lucky it was twos today.\u201d<\/p>\n
With today\u2019s victory, Irons moves from No. 18 to No. 7 on the ASP World Title Race rankings, a monumental feat that sees the powerful Hawaiian well inside the ASP Top 10.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like I\u2019m back,\u201d Irons said. \u201cI have to thank ASP for giving me the wildcard back here. My whole dream was to come back and just win one contest, and I\u2019ve done that now. I want more. And to win at Teahupoo, it\u2019s my favourite wave in the world. It\u2019s a very special win.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hobgood, one of the premiere tuberiders in the world, was unable to find his way out of multiple barrels in the Final bout against Irons and was reflective in terms Runner-Up finish in Tahiti.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had good waves that I could have got the score on and I tried a little harder than I had to,\u201d Hobgood said. \u201cMy highest score was only an 8 through every heat leading up to this one and I hadn\u2019t had a breakout performance. No one to blame but myself. I\u2019m stoked all the same though. After the heat, I told Andy \u2018there\u2019s a lot of people pulling for you, including myself.\u2019 It\u2019s emotional and you take what you can from it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s finish at the Billabong Pro Tahiti vaults the past ASP World Champion (2001) from No. 22 to No. 15 in the hunt for the 2010 ASP World Title heading into the next tour stop in Southern California.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been in four finals out here and I don\u2019t remember the years I got second,\u201d Hobgood said. \u201cStill, it\u2019s a huge result for me, and I had the opportunity out there. I finally got the monkey off my back this season and I hope I can build on this moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy Flores (FRA), 22, posted the best result of his young career, finishing Equal 3rd at the Billabong Pro Tahiti before going down to Hobgood in the Semifinals. The result jumps the young natural-footer from 24th to 19th on the ASP World Title Race rankings, an excellent position heading into Lower Trestles and home to Europe.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had priority the last five minutes and a set came that was my chance, but it wasn\u2019t the wave I needed,\u201d Flores said. \u201cThe barrel was really small inside. C.J. (Hobgood) is an excellent surfer and he\u2019s very smart. He surfed a smart heat. Still though, it\u2019s great for me, and I\u2019m excited for the next event.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kelly Slater (USA), 38, past nine-time ASP World Champion, looked the form surfer of the day, scoring the event\u2019s first and only Perfect 10 in the Quarterfinals for an incredible freefall layback barrel.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a while (since getting a 10),\u201d Slater said. \u201cThat was probably the best wave of the day. I looked at the first one, and I was surprised Ace (Adrian Buchan) went on the first one. The second one usually sucks out more and is more hollow. I was a little bit far back when I was paddling, and when I turned around to go, the wind was pushing me back. So I really had to overcompensate once I got to the bottom and finally set my edge. It was a good one though.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the Semifinal loss to Irons, Slater moves from 3rd to 2nd on the ASP World Title Race rankings, a mere 250 points behind frontrunner Jordy Smith (ZAF), 22.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m up there pretty close,\u201d Slater said. \u201cGoing all the way to J-Bay and getting 17th makes me wish I had stayed home. You lose confidence and waste time on planes. That\u2019s the way it goes \u2013 you have good events and bad events. This one has been pretty good though. The waves haven\u2019t been good, but we\u2019ve seen a lot of cool things. We\u2019ve seen the young guys really step up and we\u2019ve seen Andy (Irons) come back and put one together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Highlights from the Billabong Pro Tahiti will be available via http:\/\/www.billabongpro.com\/tahiti10\/<\/p>\n
The next stop on the 2010 ASP World Tour will be the Hurley Pro Trestles in Southern California from September 12 \u2013 18, 2010.<\/p>\n
For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com<\/p>\n
BILLABONG PRO TAHITI FINAL RESULTS:<\/p>\n
1 \u2013 Andy Irons (HAW) 14.67<\/p>\n
2 \u2013 C.J. Hobgood (USA) 8.33<\/p>\n
BILLABONG PRO TAHITI SEMIFINAL RESULTS:<\/p>\n
SF 1: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 15.00 def. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 12.93<\/p>\n
SF 2: Andy Irons (HAW) 13.57 def. Kelly Slater (USA) 10.26<\/p>\n
BILLABONG PRO TAHITI QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:<\/p>\n
QF 1: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 14.53 def. Tiago Pires (PRT) 6.23<\/p>\n
QF 2: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 11.80 def. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 11.33<\/p>\n
QF 3: Kelly Slater (USA) 18.67 def. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 12.77<\/p>\n
QF 4: Andy Irons (HAW) 16.44 def. Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 11.00<\/p>\n
BILLABONG PRO TAHITI ROUND 4 RESULTS:<\/p>\n
Heat 1: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 13.50 def. Dane Reynolds (USA) 9.67<\/p>\n
Heat 2: Tiago Pires (PRT) 14.83 def. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 12.83<\/p>\n
Heat 3: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 10.00 def. Owen Wright (AUS) 1.10<\/p>\n
Heat 4: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 10.00 def. Manoa Drollet (PYF) 5.37<\/p>\n
Heat 5: Kelly Slater (USA) 17.70 def. Adam Melling (AUS) 8.43<\/p>\n
Heat 6: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 16.67 def. Michel Bourez (PYF) 8.83<\/p>\n
Heat 7: Andy Irons (HAW) 14.17 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) 14.07<\/p>\n
Heat 8: Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 17.00 def. Damien Hobgood (USA) 13.66<\/p>\n
CURRENT ASP WORLD TITLE RACE TOP 5 (After Billabong Pro Tahiti)<\/p>\n
1 \u2013 Jordy Smith (ZAF) 30,250 pts<\/p>\n
2 \u2013 Kelly Slater (USA) 30,000 pts<\/p>\n
3 \u2013 Taj Burrow (AUS) 25,250 pts<\/p>\n
4 \u2013 Dane Reynolds (USA) 23,750 pts<\/p>\n
5 \u2013 Adriano de Souza (BRA) 23,250 pts<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Billabong Pro Tahiti pres. By Air Tahiti Nui Stop No. 5 of 10 on the 2010 ASP World Tour Teahupoo, Taiarapu\/Tahiti August 23 \u2013 September 3, 2010 Andy Irons Wins Billabong Pro Tahiti, Slater Moves to ASP World No. 2 Pictured: Andy Irons (HAW), 32, past three-time ASP World Champion, collected his 20th elite tour … Continue reading “Andy Irons Wins Billabong Pro Tahiti, Slater Moves to ASP World No. 2”<\/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-13877","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\/13877","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=13877"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13877\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}