Kieren Perrow and Matt Wilkinson survive Round 2 of Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay
The second round of Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay wrapped up with the 11th and 12th heat at the coastline of Jeffreys Bay in South Africa on Thursday, July 21.
The 11th heat saw Australia’s Kieren Perrow come up with a really impressive performance to take down America’s CJ Hobgood and advance to the next round, putting his rival out of the event-title race.
Australia’s Matt Wilkinson clinched a convincing victory over his compatriot, Chris Davidson in the 12th heat to secure a place in Round 3, while eliminating his rival from the competition in the process.
Surfing conditions at the event site were beginning to deteriorate once again, but there was still enough juice in the three-to-foot waves, gracing the coastline from time-to-time, to allow the surfers to show off some of the stylish tricks in their arsenal.
As the 11th heat began, Hobgood got off to a decent start, riding a wave to add 5.83 points to his account and clinching an early lead. Almost half-way through the heat, the 34-year-old Perrow responded to his rival with an impressive 7.33-point
wave and got hold of the lead.
The Australian collected a 4.90 off his second business-wave to move to a heat-total of 12.23 points, putting Hobgood in need of a second-wave score of 6.41 to claim victory. However, the American was unable to rise up to the challenge and only managed to
earn 3.60 off his second wave, consequently finishing with a two-wave total of 9.43 points. This removed him from the competition, while allowing his rival to move to the next round.
The final heat of Round 2 pitted the 22-year-old Australian, Wilkinson, against his countryman, Davidson, in a battle for survival. The wave conditions were worsening with every passing minute, presenting the surfers with an ever-increasing challenge of
catching or riding waves during the heat.
Despite the deteriorating conditions, Wilkinson managed to catch a couple of good waves that came his wave early in the heat, adding a 5.10 and 6.10 to his account and moving to a heat-total of 11.20 points.
Chasing his rival’s score, Davidson got involved in a desperate hunt for a decent wave-total, but the best he managed to get was a 4.50 and 2.33, bringing him to a heat-total of 6.83 points. As a result, he was forced to admit defeat and allow Wilkinson
to advance to the next stage of the competition.
The event organisers were forced to put the event on hold after the conclusion of the final heat of Round 2 due to deteriorating conditions. The event was unable to resume for the rest of the day, postponing the start of the third round to Friday, July 22,
that is if conditions would permit.
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