A Fitting End

Bobby Martinez Takes Win at Teahupoo, Burrow Finishes Runner-Up

By Jeff Mull

Seated amid a nest of Ethernet chords, laptops, and empty Coke cans in a steaming media shed south of the equator, the unmistakable cadence of Tahitian drums blares off in the distance, trumpeting the end of the Billabong Pro Tahiti. Bobby Martinez has just won his second event at Teahupoo over Taj Burrow, and as a result the normally reserved and nonchalant Tahitian fishing village has gone completely ape shit. Women are dancing in the streets, fathers have their sons hoisted upon their shoulders, wild laughter permeates the air, and Hinanos are flowing. It’s a fitting end to one of professional surfing’s most-fabled events, and from the looks of it, it’s going to be a long night here at the end of the road.

If there is anything that can be taken from the Billabong Pro Tahiti, it’s the fact that nothing in this dicey sport comes guaranteed. Absolutely nothing. Teahupoo gets small, Kelly loses, and the ratings can shift at the drop of a hat. For all of the talk about how deadly Tahiti is, for all of the gossip about how Slater’s 10th title would be a walk in the park, we were left with a heart-thumping-if-unexpected final that provided the finest exchange of the event between Bobby Martinez and Taj Burrow.

Had you asked any of the photographers and surfers who bore witness to Martinez gracefully slotting himself time and again at the newly minted “Parko’s Pass”  a few day’s back, they would have told you that he seemed untouchable, oozing with confidence, and a step ahead of his World Tour brethren. A sure bet to win the event if there ever was one.

Only one problem: Taj Burrow.

Along his road to the final, Burrow had displaced the likes of CJ Hobgood, Kieren Perrow, and Mick Campbell with all of the savvy and business-as-usual demeanor befitting the 11-year World Tour veteran. As a regular-footer and progressive surfing connoisseur, in most cases, Teahupoo wouldn’t have necessarily been Taj’s cup of tea. But today, with the 4-foot runners and slight onshore breeze, the wave seemed tailor-made for Burrow’s approach.

As the horn screamed the start of the main event, the crowd in the channel swelled to capacity as anything that could stay afloat for the 35-minute final was fair game. Kayaks, inner tubes, yachts, dinghies, bodyboards, and Jet-Skis all took part in forming surfing’s strangest and most aquatic arena. With all eyes set to the horizon, looking for any lump out to sea that might unload on the reef, it was game on.

With the flotilla formed and the collective blood-alcohol ratio of the crowd rising with the upcoming swell, Martinez drew first blood over Burrow with a tube that brought the crowd to a symphony of hoots, hollers, and whistles. An 8.7 west bowl that was the envy of everyone who surfed in the event. Sealing the nail in Taj’s coffin, Bobby followed up with the wave of the day: a 9.7-screamer of a barrel that left everyone, including Bobby, shocked and awed. And although Taj would counter time and again throughout the heat, pulling into a bevy of hail Mary tubes in the process, it’s damn near impossible to fight your way back against a pair of high 8s and 9s, and the win would go to Martinez.

To boot, Martinez surfed the heat of his life on a borrowed board.

“I actually borrowed a board from Alain Riou,” he said immediately following his win. “He rides Darren Handley shapes and the board was the same dimensions and pretty much the same board I ride. It was great to find that yesterday, as I was a bit skeptical about today in terms of the conditions and my equipment, but everything worked out perfectly.”

With four World Tour victories—two at Tahiti and two at Mundaka—Bobby has cemented himself as the preeminent frontside tuberider on Tour. He is also without a major sponsor at the moment and sporting some very open real estate along his quiver. To be sure, his win today at Teahupoo has catapulted him into the number-seven position on tour and is sure to raise a few eyebrows from industry bigwigs.

“I’m not thinking about money right now,” Martinez said. “I didn’t start surfing to make money…I started for me, and to win today, you cannot put a price on the feelings I have.”

Consequently, Burrow’s runner-up finish moved him into the number-two seed behind Joel Parkinson in the World Tour rankings headed into Brazil next month, a place that his birthed him two event wins in the past.

“I’ve had two keepers [this year] in terms of results and I’m hungry,” Burrow said. “I’m still kicking and I’m looking to win…I feel really strong at and I’m going to do whatever it takes to win. I’m stoked to get a result at Teahupoo, I haven’t done well here in a few years so it sets me up really well for the rest of the year.”

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:

QF 1: C.J. Hobgood (USA) def. Taj Burrow (AUS)

QF 2: Mick Campbell (AUS) def. Taylor Knox (USA)

QF 3: Bobby Martinez (USA) def. Adriano de Souza (BRA)

QF 4: Aritz Aranburu (EUK) def. Tom Whitaker (AUS)

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI SEMIFINAL RESULTS:

SF 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) def. Mick Campbell (AUS)

SF 2: Bobby Martinez (USA) def. Aritz Aranburu (EUK)

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI FINAL:

Bobby Martinez (USA) def. Taj Burrow (AUS)

FINAL FANTASY SURFER RESULTS

FOR THE 2009 BILLABONG PRO TAHITI

48    Mikael Picon - 0 points

47    Greg Emslie - 1 point

46     Jihad Khodr - 2 points

45    Kekoa Bacalso - 3 points

44     Roy Powers - 4 points

43     Drew Courtney - 5 points

42    David Weare - 6 points

41    Nic Muscroft - 7 points

40    Nathaniel Curran - 8 points

39    Chris Ward - 9 points

38     Michel Bourez - 10 points

37    Tiago Pires - 11 points

36    Patrick Gudauskas - 12 points

35     Bruno Santos - 13 points

34     Dane Reynolds - 14 points

33    Chris Davidson - 15 points

32     Phil MacDonald - 73 points

31    Tim Boal - 74 points

30     Marlon Lipke - 75 points

29     Dayyan Neve - 76 points

28     Dustin Barca - 77 points

27     Dean Morrison - 78 points

26    Heiarii Williams - 79 points

25    Kai Otton - 80 points

24    Adrian Buchan - 81 points

23    Jeremy Flores - 82 points

22    Ben Dunn - 83 points

21     Tim Reyes - 84 points

20     Bede Durbidge - 85 points

19    Heitor Alves - 86 points

18    Fred Patacchia - 87 points

17     Kelly Slater - 88 points

16     Joel Parkinson - 97 points

15    Jay Thompson - 98 points

14     Josh Kerr - 99 points

13    Jordy Smith - 100 points

12    Damien Hobgood - 101 points

11    Mick Fanning - 102 points

10    Kieren Perrow - 103 points

9    Andy Irons - 104 points

8         Taylor Knox - 113 points

7         Tom Whitaker - 114 points

6         Adriano de Souza - 115 points

5         CJ Hobgood - 116 points

4         Michael Campbell - 125 points

3         Aritz Aranburu - 126 points

2         Taj Burrow - 141 points

1         Bobby Martinez - 150 points