Burrow Beats Irons and Rings the Bell at the 35th Annual Rip Curl Pro

BELLS BEACH, Australia (Thursday, Apr. 12, 2007) - Taj Burrow (AUS) is elated that his name will be etched alongside the who’s who of professional surfing after eliminating Andy Irons (HAW) in the 35th Annual Rip Curl Pro presented by Snickers at Bells Beach today.

"It just feels too good to be true, I’m just so happy," Burrow said. "This is my pick of any contest that I would like to win, so it just feels unbelievable. I’m so happy to get my name on the trophy with all of the other guys’ that have won the event. I’ve put a bit more work into this year so it’s good that I’m seeing some results.

"Burrow came from behind to beat Irons with just two minutes left on the clock when he scored a 9.00 point ride in the dying minutes of the heat.

"I knew I had to ride it well because it was such a good wave," Burrow said. "I was trying not to think about finishing the wave and everything around me or how many people were watching and how much pressure was on me. I just rode the thing to the end. Halfway through it I knew I had the score so I just started thrashing it around a little more and trying to put more into each of my turns. I just had that feeling where I went ’Yes, I just nailed it!’ in the last few seconds and it felt unbelievable."

Rip Curl Pro Final Results:

Final: Taj Burrow (AUS) 16.83 def. Andy Irons (HAW) 14.73

Rip Curl Pro Semifinal Results;

1st advances to Final, 2nd finishes equal 3rd

Heat 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) 15.30 def. Tom Whitaker (AUS) 15.13

Heat 2: Andy Irons (HAW) 16.90 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) 16.17

Rip Curl Pro Quarterfinal Results;

1st advances to Semifinals, 2nd finishes equal 5th

Heat 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) 14.07 def. Royden Bryson (ZAF) 11.40

Heat 2: Tom Whitaker (AUS) 16.33 def. Kelly Slater (USA) 14.34

Heat 3: Andy Irons (USA) 17.17 def. Damien Hobgood (USA) 12.10

Heat 4: Mick Fanning (AUS) 13.46 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 13.16

Rip Curl Pro Round 4 Results;

1st advances to Quarterfinals, 2nd finishes equal 9th

Heat 1: Royden Bryson (ZAF) 16.50 def. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 12.10

Heat 2: Taj Burrow (AUS) 14.24 def. Danny Wills (AUS) 11.50

Heat 3: Tom Whitaker (AUS) 14.34 def. Leonardo Neves (BRA) 11.06

Heat 4: Kelly Slater (USA) 16.34 def. Travis Logie (ZAF) 15.43

Heat 5: Andy Irons (HAW) 8.94 def. Ben Dunn (AUS) 4.70

Heat 6: Damien Hobgood (USA) 15.07 def. Fred Patacchia (HAW) 11.17

Heat 7: Mick Fanning (AUS) 15.87 def. Mick Campbell (AUS) 15.17

Heat 8: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 17.44 def. Bruce Irons (HAW) 12.17

Foster’s ASP World Tour Top 10 after Stop No. 2, the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach

1. Mick Fanning 3536 points

1. Taj Burrow 3536 points

3. Bede Durbidge 1632 points

4. Kelly Slater 1608 points

5. Joel Parkinson 1464 points

6. Michael Campbell 1332 points

6. Ben Dunn 1332 points

8. Tom Whitaker 1286 points

9. Andy Irons 1257 points

10. Bruce Irons 1200 points

10. Daniel Wills 1200 points

10. Travis Logie 1200 points

For a full list of ratings visit http://www.aspworldtour.com

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