Michel Bourez and Josh Kerr advance to Round 4 of Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay
The third round of Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay wrapped up with the 11th and 12th heat on Saturday, July 23rd, at the coastline of Jeffreys Bay in South Africa.
The 11th heat saw French Polynesia’s Michel Bourez defeat and eliminate Portugal’s Tiago Pires from the competition to advance to the fourth round.
Australia’s Josh Kerr also made his way into the next round after prevailing over Australia’s Taj Burrow in the 12th heat, removing his rival from the competition in the process.
The conditions at the event site had turned out to be quite ideal for the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour’s intense surfing action, with six-to-eight foot waves gracing the beach.
The “Portuguese Tiger”, Pires, drew first blood in the 11th heat, riding a wave for 4.00 points. However, the 25-year-old Bourez responded with an amazing wave, scoring a near-perfect score of 9.63 off it to place his rival under pressure.
Pires attempted to recover from his rivals’ spectacular wave but only managed to add an additional 6.60 to his account, moving to a heat-total of 10.60 point and leaving the gate open for Bourez to comfortably take the win. The French Polynesian performed
the coup de grace with a 5.67-point wave to seal the fate of the heat and head to the next round.
The 12th heat of Round 3 pitted two in-form Australians, Kerr and Burrow, against each other. While the class and skill of Burrow was undeniable, the 27-year-old Kerr was enjoying an excellent form himself during the current season.
As the showdown commenced, Kerr wasted no time in asserting his form. After a series of mediocre waves, he caught a juicy one to pull off a combination of flips and turns, earning 8.17 points for the effort. Burrow responded with a 6.93-point wave immediately
to remove some pressure off his shoulders.
As the heat entered its final minutes, Kerr locked yet another juicy wave and this time managed to utilise it for 8.43 points, moving to a heat-total of 16.60 points. Burrow caught a good wave himself, but failed to make the most out of it and only managed
to add 7.27 to his account, finishing with a heat-total of 14.20 points.
Finishing 2.40 points short of his rival’s score, Burrow was forced to watch his rival move into the next round, while getting eliminated from the competition himself. This came as a real disappointment for him, as an early exit from the event would strip
him of the fourth spot in the ASP World Tour rankings.
With the conclusion of the 12th heat, the third round of Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay wrapped up. The event organisers decided to get the fourth round underway after analysing the conditions.
For updates on Round 4 of Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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