BELLS BEACH, Australia — Andy Irons won his Round 3 heat, Monday, to advance to today’s Round 4 of the Rip Curl Pro in Australia. Competition is scheduled to commence at 9:30 a.m. at Winkipop. Desirable conditions in the 3-
BELLS BEACH, Australia — Andy Irons won his Round 3 heat, Monday, to advance to today’s Round 4 of the Rip Curl Pro in Australia.
Competition is scheduled to commence at 9:30 a.m. at Winkipop.
Desirable conditions in the 3- to 4-foot range have prompted event officials to look toward completing as many heats as possible.
“If the conditions keep improving we will keep going,” Neil Ridgway, Rip Curl Marketing Director said, in a release. “We’re not going to stop competition because the forecast looks better for tomorrow — if we get the waves today, we’ll run with it. At the other end of the spectrum, if we run four heats and a rain squall comes, we’ll can it.”
There are 15 heats of competition remaining before a Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach champion is crowned. With four days left in the event waiting period and plenty of swell on tap, event officials will put the world’s best surfers in the world’s best waves.
Former winners Mick Fanning, Taj Burrow, Joel Parkinson, Irons and Kelly Slater are among the 16 surfers still in contention to “ring the bell.”
Kaua‘i’s Roy Powers is also still in the competition and is slated to surf against Dane Reynolds.
Rip Curl Pro Round 4
match-ups
Heat 1: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Dayyan Neve (AUS)
Heat 2: Neco Padaratz (BRA) vs. Joel Parkinson (AUS)
Heat 3: Jeremy Flores (FRA) vs. Bobby Martinez (USA)
Heat 4: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Mick Fanning (AUS)
Heat 5: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Luke Stedman (AUS)
Heat 6: Roy Powers (HAW) vs. Dane Reynolds (USA)
Heat 7: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Damien Hobgood (USA)
Heat 8: Andy Irons (HAW) vs. Kai Otton (AUS)
