Joel Parkinson and Taj Burrow extend their life in Quiksilver Pro after successful Round 2
Australia’s Joel Parkinson and Taj Burrow bounced back from a Round 1 defeat to take top honours in Round 2 of Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast, first stop on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour, which went down at Snapper Rocks in Queensland,
Australia, on Sunday, February 26.
Parkinson took the win over fellow countryman Garrett Parkes in the first heat of the elimination Round 2, forcing the latter into an early exit from the competition while advancing through into the third round himself.
The second heat saw Burrow prevail over America’s Dane Reynolds to secure the Round 3 spot will bringing the event to a premature end for the latter.
Clean three-to-four waves were on offer at the event site on Sunday as the surfers battled it out for a place in the third round after collecting disappointing results on Saturday.
The 2011 ASP World Runner-Up Parkinson had failed to put on an impressive show for the crowd in Round 1, but bounced back strongly in Round 2.
Pitted against the 20-year-old Parkes in a battle for survival, the 30-year-old Parkinson utilised his experience and huge array of skills to post an 8.33 and 8.03 on the score-board, finishing with a heat-total of 16.36 points to walk away with a comprehensive
win.
Parkes, on the other hand, struggled to catch a decent wave and eventually finished with a heat-total of 6.43 points, comprising of a 3.00 and 3.43-point wave.
The second heat featured an exciting battle between two of the sport’s biggest names, Burrow and Reynolds. Both the surfers had failed to get off to an ideal start, but were expected to try and make a strong comeback.
As the heat got underway, the 26-year-old Reynolds unloaded huge aerials and carves to post a 7.43 and an 8.63 on the score-board for a heat-total of 16.06 points. The score seemed sufficient to get him the well.
However, Burrow utilised his experience to get hold of the heat’s two best waves to score a 9.40 and 8.70 off it to take his heat-total to 18.10 points. The spectacular performance served to seal the fate of the battle in his favour, carrying him through
to the next round.
“It was good to get that one out of the way because I was tossing and turning last night thinking about what I was going to do against Dane [Reynolds],” Burrow said. “His approach to surfing is kind of the same as mine, so I’m glad we put on a show. Before
that heat I hadn’t really had a good wave out there yet this year, because yesterday I only caught one piddly two footer. I was just finding my feet today at the start of that heat, then I saw Dane hang his board out on a couple of turns and it got me pumped.”
The surfing action continued at Snapper Rocks with the remaining heats of Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast’s Round 2 on Sunday.
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