Billabong Pro J-Bay Results and Recap

Posted on July 26th, 2011 by JZ

Jordy Smith raises the South African flag after winning the Billabong Pro J-Bay. Photo: ASP/Kirstin

For the second year in a row, Jordy Smith has won the Billabong Pro J-Bay. Having a bit of a hometown advantage the South African really showed his abilities in the later rounds of the competition. The final against Mick Fanning was a real close one, but Jordy came out on top beating Mick by only 0.77 points. We’ve got the rundown on the later rounds of the competition, along with photos, videos, and the new world rankings below.

After an insane day of uncertainty with 9 different calls to keep the contest on hold, they finally called a lay day. The next day, the waves picked up and the pros got back into the water. Rounds 3, 4, and 5 were all completed in one day which means some guys had to surf 3 different times. One of those guys was this year’s runner up, Mick Fanning. After surfing in rounds 3, 4, and 5, he went on to surf in the quarters, semis, and finals the next day. Six heats in two days is a huge challenge for anyone but Fanning never showed signs of letting up and that’s why he’s a two-time world champ.

“It was really difficult out there today,” Fanning said. “Three heats yesterday and three heats today and felt like the arms wanted to fall off. Big congratulations to Jordy (Smith) though. It was great surfing. It’s inspirational stuff and I’m looking forward to the next one.”

With his 2nd place finish, Mick now sits in 4th in the world rankings. Moving up to the top of the rankings is Joel Parkinson. After not being able to compete at J-Bay last year and essentially dropping out of the title race due to a horrific heel injury, Parko has finished 9th, 1st, 5th, and 3rd in competition this year and has the lead in the rankings over Jordy Smith by 1000 points. With the rather small lead, Joel knows that it’s still early and he has a lot of work to do to stay a the top. The current top 10 can be seen below.

“I don’t really think about that yet,” Parkinson said. “It’s only the fourth event of the year and I’ve been in this position before. I’m happy with my surfing and my boards and I’ll keep my eyes on the next heat.”

Another highlight from this event that deserves mentioning is 2011 rookie, Julian Wilson. At the young age of 22, Julian has made a splash this year on tour and had a great showing at J-Bay. He finished with an equal 5th and had a perfect 10 for what turned out to be the best barrel and the only perfect 10 of the entire contest. You can watch the wave in the highlights from his round 3 heat below.

Heat 5: Julian Wilson (AUS) 17.00 def. Kieren Perrow (AUS) 11.00

Round 3, 4, & 5 Highlights

Finals Highlights

Watch all the heats from the 2011 Billabong Pro on demand at billbongpro.com.

Quarterfinal Results
QF 1: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.10 def. Damien Hobgood (USA) 8.94
QF 2: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 16.77 def. Julian Wilson (AUS) 14.90
QF 3: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 16.83 def. Alejo Muniz (BRA) 8.16
QF 4: Mick Fanning (AUS) 15.40 def. Josh Kerr (AUS) 5.43

Semifinal Results
SF 1: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 17.46 def. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 11.87
SF 2: Mick Fanning (AUS) 17.47 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 11.93

Final Results
1 – Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.60
2 – Mick Fanning (AUS) 14.83

ASP WORLD TITLE TOP 10 (After Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay):
1. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 25700 pts
2. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 24750 pts
3. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 22250 pts
4. Mick Fanning (AUS) 19500 pts
5. Taj Burrow (AUS) 18250 pts
6. Kelly Slater (USA) 16950 pts
7. Michel Bourez (PYF) 16000
8. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 15000
9. Josh Kerr (AUS) 13900 pts
9. Owen Wright (AUS) 13900 pts

For the full rankings, check out aspworldtour.com.

The next stop on tour is the Billabong Pro Tahiti which takes place from August 20th to August 31st. If you can’t wait that long, the Nike U.S. Open of Surfing starts at the end of this week.

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