ICHINOMIYA, Chiba — The 2009 Association of Surf Professionals WQS 4-Star Billabong Tsurigasaki Pro concluded Sunday at Tsurugasaki Beach with the final three rounds of action narrowing the field to an eventual champion. The local weather at Tsurigasaki Beach, Ichinomiya
ICHINOMIYA, Chiba — The 2009 Association of Surf Professionals WQS 4-Star Billabong Tsurigasaki Pro concluded Sunday at Tsurugasaki Beach with the final three rounds of action narrowing the field to an eventual champion.
The local weather at Tsurigasaki Beach, Ichinomiya was fair on Sunday morning, according to an ASP press release. The surf conditions were two-to-four feet with onshore winds. Event director Toshiyuki Tanaka called at 8 a.m. to get the final day’s action underway.
Two Japanese, one Hawaiian, and one Australian: Parrish Byrne, Izuki Tanaka, Teppei Tajima, and Hawai‘i’s Joel Centeio made it to the Semifinals.
In Semifinal 1, Byrne overcame Tanaka to move to the Final. In Semifinal 2, Tajima overcame Centeio to move to Final.
Teppei Tajima held the lead for the majority of the Final with Parrish Byrne. With only a few minutes remaining, Byrne fights back strong with an excellent 9.33 to take the lead over Tajima. Tajima strikes hard back with an excellent 9.00, but not enough to take the lead once again. With a total point of 16.83 to 16.50 for Tajima, Parrish Byrne of Australia is crowned the 2009 Billabong Tsurigasaki Pro Champion.
Final Results:
1-Parrish Byrne (AUS) $12,000
1,500 points
2-Teppei Tajima (JPN) $5,000
1,313 points
3-Izuki Tanaka (JPN) $3,400
1,125 points
Joel Centeio (HAW) $3,400
1,125 points
Slater turns heads
in 5th-place finish
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. – The Association of Surfing Professionals World Tour completed the seventh of 10 stops Monday on this year’s Dream Tour and reigning nine-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater, 27, led the American Charge alongside Bobby Martinez, 27, with both surfers earning fifth place finishes while 2007 ASP World Champ Mick Fanning, 27, marched to his second consecutive event win.
Slater turned heads in his opening round heats taking his Round 1 win by storm before narrowly defeating dangerous Quiksilver Pro wildcard Joan Duru in Round 3. Slater battled back in dramatic fashion to advance out of Round 3 after Duru blasted a near-flawless 9.17 out of 10 in the opening minutes their bout with a buzzer beating wave that was crucial in his fifth place result at the Quiksilver Pro France.
