Taj Burrow prevails in Round 4 of Quiksilver Pro New York – 2011 ASP World Tour
After a thrilling Round 3, the latest stop of 2011 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour, Quiksilver Pro New York, moved on to the no-elimination Round 4, starting off with the first heat on Thursday, September 8, at the Long Beach, New York.
The three-man battle ended with Australia’s Taj Burrow clinching top honours by defeating Brazil’s Adriano de Souza and France’s Jeremy Flores to make his way straight into the quarter-finals. De Souza and Flores got relegated to Round 5 after rounding out
the second and third position respectively.
Surfing conditions prevailing at the primary event site on Thursday turned out to be quite demanding. While the six-foot waves seemed promising, the strong winds blowing at Long Beach were presenting the surfers with a huge challenge as they sought to earn
good scores in order to secure a place in the quarter-final.
The 33-year-old Burrow is renowned for his ability to perform under any conditions and he surely lived up to this repute during the first heat of Round 4. As the three-man battle kicked off, he went through a series of waves before locking a wave to score
6.23 points off it. A few minutes later, he caught a real juicy wave to exhibit a combo comprising of some of the stylish tricks in his arsenal.
The effort earned him an outstanding 8.70 points, taking his heat-total to a decisive 14.93. The score remained unbeatable through the course of the contest and eventually carried him off to victory.
De Souza had seemed a bit shaky at the beginning of the contest, something that had been a feature of his performance over the last couple of moments. However, a strong performance in Round 2, followed by another impressive performance in Round 3 had allowed
him to make his way into Round 4. The previous two victories had surely given him the confidence to take on the world’s best surfers head on and come off more like a shadow of his former self.
The Brazilian collected a 6.67-point wave early in the heat to enjoy the lead for a while and further increased his chances of walking away with the win by adding an additional 8.10 points to his account. However, the outstanding response by Burrow in the
final minutes of the heat deprived De Souza of victory and forced him to settle for a runner-up place, consequently relegating him to Round 5.
The French force Flores was another competitor in the heat who had the potential to clinch the win. However, he remained the weakest performer during the 30-minute bout, collecting 5.20 and 6.17 points off his top-two waves to finish with a heat-total of
11.37 points. This resulted in his relegation to Round 5 as well.
For more updates on Round 4 of Quiksilver Pro New York, stay tuned to bettor.com
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