Taj Burrow steals the spotlight at Snapper Rocks during opening event of 2012 ASP World Tour
Taj Burrow is without any doubt one of the most respected names in Australia when it comes to surfing. The 33-year-old phenom had been waves in the sport for quite a number of years. The very fact that he has been able to maintain his place among the top-10
despite the likes of Kelly Slater and late Andy Irons in the waves is enough to prove that Burrow is indeed as good as any surfer.
Heading into the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour, there was not a lot of buzz about what Burrow can possibly do this season. While this could be attributed to the fact that the Australian surfer had been pretty much making a solid
impact in the previous seasons of the elite tour, a more convincing guess would have been the newer generation of surfers who were joining the ranks of elite ASP surfers in the campaign for the coveted ASP World Title. Brazil’s Gabriel Medina, America’s Kolohe
Andino and Hawaii’s John John Florence were enjoying most of the spotlight, along with the 11-time ASP World Champion Slater who was still keeping his future plans a secret, probably because he himself was uncertain whether he wanted to take the count of his
titles to a dozen.
Burrow did not do much to steal the spotlight on the first day of Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast, the first stop of the 2012 ASP World Tour, which kicked off at Snapper Rocks in Queensland, Australia, on February 25. Despite his ability to put on a solid performance
under any conditions, he was unable to tame the three-to-four foot waves and ended up succumbing to Hawaii’s Fredrick Patacchia.
Relegated to Round 2, the Yallingup-based surfer found himself pitted against America’s Dane Reynolds. The clash of the two titans was expected to be full of fireworks and that is exactly what it turned out to be. However, Reynolds was unable to stand his
ground for too long and eventually conceded victory and thus a Round 3 spot to his rival, sending the latter into the third round.
As the event progressed, Burrow found himself squaring off with fellow countrymen Adrian Buchan, young gun Julian Wilson, who was the 2011 ASP World Rookie of the Year. Neither of the two surfers was able to match the ASP World Tour veteran’s skills and
experience and therefore fell to him.
Burrow kept moving towards the coveted title shot, though he had to take care of one last obstacle to get in the Final, Jordy Smith. The South African surfer had been looking in a ferocious form since the start of the event despite the demanding surfing
conditions. He was not expected to go down easily. However, Burrow managed to bring Smith’s excellent run at the competition to an end after an intense battle.
Heading into the Final of Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast, Burrow came face-to-face with Brazil’s Adriano de Souza. The 25-year-old Santa Catarina-based surfer had quite an impact in the 2011 season of ASP World Tour and was once getting exhibiting similar intentions.
The Final turned out to be an exciting affair with both the surfers looking pretty well-matched. They remained busy throughout the heat, charging towards wave after wave to find a good score. The battle went down to the wire, with both the finalists locking
a wave in the dying minutes of the heat to unload a series of exquisite tricks. It was this particular moment that made all the difference as Burrow’s wave got a slightly higher score than De Souza’s, consequently earning the Australian the event title while
forcing the latter to settle for runner-up place.
Getting an ideal start at Snapper Rocks was exactly what Burrow had hoped as it is easier to build momentum from here. Finding himself sitting atop the 2012 ASP World Tour rankings, he would definitely be getting a lot more attention now and will be the
man to beat in the next event Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach that is scheduled to kick-off from April 3.
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