Taj Burrow under the spotlight after an ideal start to 2012 ASP World Tour
After watching Taj Burrow’s performance at the first stop of the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Title series, Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast, one cannot help but wonder if he would be able to finish what he has started.
The 33-year-old Australian is known to be one of the deadliest adversaries in water due to his huge array of skills and abundance of experience. He has surfed and mastered a large number of breaks around the world and therefore is not as affected by the
prevailing surfing conditions as his fellow elite ASP surfers.
This does serve to give him an advantage over others, something that is quite often apparent when Mother Nature is not in a generous mood and therefore the primary event site is short of quality waves.
For years, Burrow has been finding himself in the Top-10 at the end of the elite tour despite being one of the standout performers due to his consistency and huge arsenal of tricks.
However, one of the biggest drawbacks of surfing against the best is that no matter how big a phenom a surfer is, he always finds himself facing an opponent who undoubtedly possesses the ability to down him.
Burrow has gotten a start at numerous events over the last few years, but has hardly gotten as many event wins as one expects of him primarily due to the fact that the likes of the 11-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater, former two-time ASP Champion Mick
Fanning and the new wave of surfing talent such as Adriano de Souza and Gabriel Medina of Brazil, Jordy Smith of South Africa and Australia’s Owen Wright are hardly the type of surfers who let an opportunity pass without grabbing it. Therefore, Burrow has
not been able to make the sort of impact that everyone believes he is capable of.
Kicking off the latest season of ASP World Tour at Snapper Rocks in the final week of February, Burrow clearly made his intentions known. Despite a field filled with a number of intimidating names, the Australian surfer stole the show with a series of excellent
performances before claiming top honours in the final.
A victory at Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast is exactly the sort of start that every World Tour campaigner is hoping for as it gives them a platform to build their momentum on. Last year, Slater had emerged triumphant in the event and went on to win his 11th ASP
World Title.
It would be interesting to see how Burrow capitalises on his success early in the 2012 World Tour. Sitting at the No.1 slot in the title race, he would surely be the prime target of every surfer at the next stop of the elite tour, Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach.
Australia’s Joel Parkinson, last year’s Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach champion and 2011 ASP World Runner-Up, will definitely be looking back to repeat last year’s performance and make up for what eventually turned out to be a disappointing run at Snapper Rocks.
Other contenders for the World Title are also expected to step up at the next event, which is expected to offer really good surfing conditions.
Burrow sure has his work cut out for him at Bells Beach as he resumes his campaign for the ASP World Title in the first week of April. He surely needs to win the event to build momentum and make his pursuit of the coveted honours even more solid. While the
ultimate goal is indeed appealing, the road is without any doubt a tough one, though he has no choice but to tread on it and best the obstacles that stand in his way regardless of how demanding they are in nature.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely of the writer’s and do not reflect bettor.com’s official editorial policy.
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