{"id":24347,"date":"2011-07-15T09:52:17","date_gmt":"2011-07-15T16:52:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/?p=24347"},"modified":"2011-07-15T14:19:12","modified_gmt":"2011-07-15T21:19:12","slug":"billabong-pro-j-bay-off-to-ok-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/?p=24347","title":{"rendered":"Billabong Pro J-Bay Off To OK Start"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Smith<\/a><\/p>\n

The Billabong Pro J-Bay<\/a><\/strong> kicked off today (July 15, 2011) and not surprisingly the standout from the first round was home country hero Jordy Smith<\/strong>. In fact, he did so well we didn’t even miss Kelly “Tavarua Trooper” Slater<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cSean (Holmes) is obviously a very competent surfer at Jeffreys and Adam (Melling) was Runner-Up here last year so I definitely wasn\u2019t taking the heat lightly,\u201d Smith said. \u201cThey both got really good waves and I had to make do with what was left. It\u2019s not classic J-Bay, but even when it\u2019s like this, it\u2019s still a pretty good wave. . . I don\u2019t really feel the pressure to perform,\u201d Smith said. \u201cI\u2019ve got my little program here with my friends and I\u2019m just focusing on getting waves and surfing well. I\u2019m happy to be through to Round 3.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Staying up all night to watch this event is seriously annoying, but we’ll get used to it. Follow the jump for the official word from the ASP.JEFFREYS BAY, South Africa (Friday, July 15, 2011) \u2013 The Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay got underway today with Round 1 completed in rippable three-to-four foot (1 metre) waves at South Africa\u2019s iconic pointbreak.<\/p>\n

Event No. 4 of 11 on the 2011 ASP World Title season, the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay put an end to a seven-week break in the schedule today with the world\u2019s best putting on a high-performance surfing clinic for Round 1 of competition.<\/p>\n

Jordy Smith (ZAF), 23, 2010 ASP World Runner-Up and defending event winner, was today\u2019s star performer, netting the highest heat total of the day (a 16.87 out of a possible 20) as well as the highest single-wave score (a 9.00 out of a possible 10) en route to a Round 1 victory over last year\u2019s event Runner-Up Adam Melling (AUS), 26, and wildcard Sean Holmes (ZAF), 33.<\/p>\n

\u201cSean (Holmes) is obviously a very competent surfer at Jeffreys and Adam (Melling) was Runner-Up here last year so I definitely wasn\u2019t taking the heat lightly,\u201d Smith said. \u201cThey both got really good waves and I had to make do with what was left. It\u2019s not classic J-Bay, but even when it\u2019s like this, it\u2019s still a pretty good wave.\u201d<\/p>\n

Currently ranked No. 5 on the ASP World Title rankings, Smith surfed Jeffreys Bay with unmatched comfort and power, blending solid turns with big airs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t really feel the pressure to perform,\u201d Smith said. \u201cI\u2019ve got my little program here with my friends and I\u2019m just focusing on getting waves and surfing well. I\u2019m happy to be through to Round 3.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dusty Payne (HAW), 22, into his second season amongst the elite ASP Top 34, punctuated the afternoon with a sensational performance, blasting away a fury of high-octane forehand maneuvers to dispatch Michel Bourez (PYF), 25, and Patrick Gudauskas (USA), 25, to Round 2.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was tricky out there this afternoon, but when the good ones come through, they\u2019re still really rippable,\u201d Payne said. \u201cFortunately, I got that good one at the beginning and that set the pace for me in the heat. Stoked to be back in Jeffreys again and hope we can get some solid surf here in the next few days.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mick Fanning (AUS), 29, former two-time ASP World Champion and current No. 8 on the ASP World Title Rankings, put in a blitzing performance in this morning\u2019s clean conditions, navigating the Jeffreys Bay walls with speed, punch and bite.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were definitely some fun waves out there,\u201d Fanning said. \u201cIt\u2019s great to put the jersey back on and mix it up with the boys. Board feels good and I\u2019m happy to be straight through to Round 3. Hope we can get some solid swell out there for the competition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Julian Wilson (AUS), 22, in his first showing at the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay, led the Round 1 rookie charge, posting an impressive 14.10 out of a possible 20 to best veterans Taylor Knox (USA), 40, and Damien Hobgood (USA), 31. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a slow heat out there and I guess that\u2019s how it is at J-Bay sometimes,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cYou only get two or three opportunities to make it a good heat for yourself so you need to make sure you make the most of them. This is my first time to Jeffreys and only my third surf out there. I\u2019ve got a really good board right now that Matt Biolis shaped specifically for J-Bay and it\u2019s worked really well so far.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wilson was joined by Alejo Muniz (BRA), 21, as the only rookies to advance directly into Round 3 today.<\/p>\n

Kelly Slater (USA), 39, reigning 10-time ASP World Champion, and Bobby Martinez (USA), 29, failed to show for today\u2019s Round 1 of competition. Should either surfer fail to show for Round 2, they will be replaced under the new ASP ruling.
\nAdriano de Souza (BRA), 24, current leader in the hunt for the 2011 ASP World Title, was dispatched to Round 2 today by lethal goofy-footer Kai Otton (AUS), 31. The young Brazilian will face Gabe Kling (USA), 30, when competition resumes.
\nEvent organizers will reconvene tomorrow morning at 7am to assess conditions for a possible 7:30am start.<\/p>\n

Highlights from the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay will be available via http:\/\/www.billabongpro.com<\/p>\n

For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com<\/p>\n

BILLABONG PRO JEFFREYS BAY ROUND 1 RESULTS:
\nHeat 1: Tiago Pires (PRT) 11.04, Bede Durbidge (AUS) 6.66, Cory Lopez (USA) 6.60
\nHeat 2: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 13.10, C.J. Hobgood (USA) 12.17, Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 9.67
\nHeat 3: Jadson Andre (BRA) 12.90, Taj Burrow (AUS) 10.00, Gabe Kling (USA) 8.13
\nHeat 4: Mick Fanning (AUS) 15.73, Heitor Alves (BRA) 12.17, Bobby Martinez (USA) 0.00
\nHeat 5: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 16.87, Sean Holmes (ZAF) 14.93, Adam Melling (AUS) 14.57
\nHeat 6: Alejo Muniz (BRA) 12.77, Shaun Payne (ZAF) 7.46, Kelly Slater (USA) 0.00
\nHeat 7: Kai Otton (AUS) 13.50, Adriano de Souza (BRA) 8.50, Chris Davidson (AUS) 4.73
\nHeat 8: Josh Kerr (AUS) 12.70, Owen Wright (AUS) 8.43, Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 7.56
\nHeat 9: Daniel Ross (AUS) 11.70, Adrian Buchan (AUS) 7.80, Kieren Perrow (AUS) 7.73
\nHeat 10: Julian Wilson (AUS) 14.10, Taylor Knox (USA) 10.46, Damien Hobgood (USA) 9.70
\nHeat 11: Dusty Payne (HAW) 16.03, Michel Bourez (PYF) 9.10, Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 8.77
\nHeat 12: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 12.66, Brett Simpson (USA) 8.87, Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 7.60<\/p>\n

BILLABONG PRO JEFFREYS BAY ROUND 2 MATCH-UPS:
\nHeat 1: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Shaun Payne (ZAF)
\nHeat 2: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Sean Holmes (ZAF)
\nHeat 3: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Bobby Martinez (USA)
\nHeat 4: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. Gabe Kling (USA)
\nHeat 5: Owen Wright (AUS) vs. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW)
\nHeat 6: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Cory Lopez (USA)
\nHeat 7: Damien Hobgood (USA) vs. Taylor Knox (USA)
\nHeat 8: Michel Bourez (PYF) vs. Raoni Monteiro (BRA)
\nHeat 9: Brett Simpson (USA) vs. Adam Melling (AUS)
\nHeat 10: Patrick Gudauskas (USA) vs. Heitor Alves (BRA)
\nHeat 11: Kieren Perrow (AUS) vs. C.J. Hobgood (USA)
\nHeat 12: Matt Wilkinson (AUS) vs. Chris Davidson (AUS)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Billabong Pro J-Bay kicked off today (July 15, 2011) and not surprisingly the standout from the first round was home country hero Jordy Smith. In fact, he did so well we didn’t even miss Kelly “Tavarua Trooper” Slater. \u201cSean (Holmes) is obviously a very competent surfer at Jeffreys and Adam (Melling) was Runner-Up here […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24347"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24347"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24347\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24353,"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24347\/revisions\/24353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}