Billabong Pro Tahiti pres. By Air Tahiti Nui
Stop No. 5 of 10 on the 2010 ASP World Tour
Teahupoo, Taiarapu/Tahiti
August 23 – September 3, 2010

 

Andy Irons Wins Billabong Pro Tahiti, Jordy Smith retains ASP World No. 1 Ranking

Travis Logie makes the Top 32 mid-year cutoff

 

TEAHUPOO, Taiarapu/Tahiti (Friday, September 3, 2010) – 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.

 

The emphatic victory marks Irons’ 20^th 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).

 

 “I did it!” Irons exclaimed. “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’d 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.”

 

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, moves from No. 18 to No. 7 on the ASP World Title Race rankings.

 

South Africa’s Jordy Smith retains the ASP World No. 1 ranking despite a 17^th place finish in Tahiti. Defeat by local wildcard and Teahupoo expert Manoa Drollet (PYF) in Round 3 saw the Durbanite’s lead has been cut to a mere 250 points over past nine-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater (USA). Slater’s semifinal loss to Irons saw him leapfrog Taj Burrow (AUS) into the No. 2 spot.

 

“I’m up there pretty close,” Slater said. “That’s the way it goes – you have good events and bad events. This one has been pretty good though. The waves haven’t been good, but we’ve seen a lot of cool things. We’ve seen the young guys really step up and we’ve seen Andy (Irons) come back and put one together.”

 

Durbanite Travis Logie ensured South Africa will have two surfers on the ASP ‘Dream Tour’ for the remaining five events of the 2010 season when he qualified amongst the top 32 in the ASP World Title Race Rankings as the ASP cut the field from 45 to 32.

 

Needing to advance through at least one round to stay in contention for the mid-year cut-off, Logie did exactly that, recording a dramatic victory over veteran Australian campaigner Kieren Perrow in Round 2 before being eliminated by Frederick Patacchia (HAW) in Round 3.

 

His 17^th place finished left Logie in a four-way tie for 29^th position in the rankings, with Perrow at No. 33. The ASP Wildcard committee, comprising surfer representatives, an international panel of ASP doctors and ASP officials, have awarded Perrow and Gabe Kling (USA) the two wildcards that will take the ASP World Tour field for the remainder of the season to 34.

 

Highlights from the Billabong Pro Tahiti are available via http://www.billabongpro.com/tahiti10/

 

The next stop on the 2010 ASP World Tour will be the Hurley Pro Trestles in Southern California from September 12 – 18, 2010.

 

For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com

 

 

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

 

 

CURRENT TOP 32 ON THE ASP WORLD TITLE RACE (After Billabong Pro Tahiti)

1          Jordy Smith (ZAF)              30250

2          Kelly Slater (USA)                30000

3          Taj Burrow (AUS)                 25250

4          Dane Reynolds (USA)        23750

5          Adriano De Souza (BRA)   23250

6          Mick Fanning (AUS)                       23000

7          Andy Irons (HAW)                19750

8          Bede Durbidge (AUS)         19250

9          Adrian Buchan (AUS)         18250

10        Owen Wright (AUS)             17500

11        Bobby Martinez (USA)        17000

12        Jadson Andre (BRA)           16500

13        Fredrick Patacchia (HAW)  16250

13        Tiago Pires (PRT)                16250

15        C.J. Hobgood (USA)            16000

16        Joel Parkinson (AUS)         15250

17        Damien Hobgood (USA)    15000

17        Michel Bourez (PYF)           15000

19        Jeremy Flores (FRA)           14250

20        Adam Melling (AUS)           13250

21        Chris Davidson (AUS)        12750

22        Patrick Gudauskas (USA)  11000

23        Taylor Knox (USA)               9750

24        Luke Stedman (AUS)          9500

24        Dusty Payne (HAW)                        9500

24        Matt Wilkinson (AUS)          9500

27        Roy Powers (HAW)             9000

28        Kai Otton (AUS)                   8500

29        Daniel Ross (AUS)              8250

29        Luke Munro (AUS)              8250

29        Brett Simpson (USA)           8250

29        Travis Logie (ZAF)             8250

 

WILDCARDS FOR THE BALANCE OF THE 2010 SEASON

1          Kieren Perrow (AUS)

2          Gabe Kling (USA)

 

SURFERS DROPPING OFF THE 2010 ASP WORLD TOUR

Drew Courtney (AUS), 31
Neco Padaratz (BRA), 34
Tanner Gudauskas (USA), 22
Mick Campbell (AUS), 34
Kieren Perrow (AUS), 33
Tom Whitaker (AUS), 30
Kekoa Bacalso (HAW), 25
Blake Thornton (AUS), 25
Dean Morrison (AUS), 29
Jay Thompson (AUS), 28
Nate Yeomans (USA), 29
Ben Dunn (AUS), 24

Marco Polo (BRA), 29

  

Visit the Press Room on www.aspworldtour.com for news, images, transcribed athlete interviews and more.

 

Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Media
Dave Prodan
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EVENT MEDIA

Billabong Pro Media Manager

Johnathan “JJ” Jenkins

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Issued on behalf of:

 

ASP Africa

Contact:            Colin Fitch – Operations Manager

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About ASP: The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the recognized world governing body of professional surfing and has been crowning surfing’s undisputed World Champions since 1976. The ASP sanctions and crowns World Champions for the following tours: the ASP World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, ASP World Junior Tour, ASP World Longboard 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 and other media platforms. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Japan, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America.