Aussie rings Bells

Jane Emerick
Australian Taj Burrow won his first Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach yesterday with a thrilling lastminute victory over American Andy Irons.
Burrow trailed Irons’ score throughout the final until he snared a ninepoint ride in the final two minutes.
Burrows finished the ride leaving Irons in between sets and needing a 9.33point wave in the final minute.
Ecstatic supporters welcomed Burrows on the sand as he claimed victory and moved to equal first on the world ratings after the second event of the 2007 ASP world tour.
“I’m as happy as it gets right now,” Burrows said later on the presentation stage.
“Just to have it come down to crunch time like that and get it on my last wave was unbelievable.”
Burrows admitted making “mistakes” as threetime world champion and former Bells winner Irons held the lead with superior wave choices.
Then Burrows “just connected with the last one”.
“It was the right wave at the right time,” he said.
Burrows, a 29yearold who finished number two in the world in 1999, marvelled at sharing the tour’s first place with Queensland’s Mick Fanning after two events.
“It’s early days but it’s the greatest start I’ve had in my career for sure,” he said.
Early favourites Kelly Slater and Fanning were absent from the final after lacklustre wave selection yesterday left both short on scores.
Australian youngster Tom Whitaker caused one of the upsets of the event when he eliminated eighttime world champion in the quarter finals, using his wave priority to block the former Bells champion.
Burrows defeated Whitaker in the semifinals with clean, vertical surfing.
After scoring a 9.7 in quarterfinal heats, Australian worldnumber one Fanning was left slapping the water in frustration when he lost to Irons in their semifinal.
Jan Juc’s Nic Muscroft caused one of the other upsets of the competition when he defeated American world number nine Taylor Knox in earlier heats at Johanna Beach.
Meanwhile, Australia’s Stephanie Gilmore won the women’s competition on the weekend.