Michel Bourez : photo ASP Kirstin/Covered Images

Reef Hawaiian Pro

ASP 6-Star Prime WQS Men's Event
Alii Beach Haleiwa Oahu Hawaii
12 - 23 November 2008

Live Coverage  |  Results/Photos/Videos etc

Michel Bourez wins Reef Hawaiian Pro, qualifies for WCT

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 22 November, 2008 : - - Haleiwa -- Tahitian Michel Bourez, 22, scored a career-best win in Hawaii today, taking first place in the $135,000 Reef Hawaiian Pro and an early lead on the prestigious Vans Triple Crown of Surfing series ratings.

Prior to today, Bourez's best result was a minor event win in the Canary Islands in 2005. Today's result takes him to the No.2 ranking on the ASP World Qualifying Series ratings, guaranteeing him a start on the elite ASP World Tour in 2009. Bourez earned $15,000 for his win today.

Runner-up was Brazil's Jihad Khodr, 24 ($7,500); third was Hawaii's Kekoa Bacalso (Mililani, $4,500), and fourth was Maui's Dusty Payne, the youngest of the finalists at 19 and the only surfer to come all the way through from the very first round, surfing eight times to earn $4,400.

In conditions that more closely resembled the hollow tubes of Tahiti or Hawaii's Off-The-Wall, Bourez hit his stride in the semi-finals in an unbelievable demonstration of deep tube-riding and critical power maneuvers, posting the highest wave and heat scores of the entire event: 18.96 points out of 20 for the heat, and 9.93 out of 10 for his top tube ride. In the final, he posted a total of 16.77 points with scores of 9.77 and 7.0.

Michel Bourez : photo ASP Rowland/Covered Images

"That semi was maybe the best heat of my life," said Bourez. "Everybody was getting barreled I was screaming my head off. It was so sick. I was having so much fun out there and that's what I call a good contest.

"It means a lot to just (qualify for) the World Tour. I've been dreaming about this my whole life since I started to surf. I've been watching all the best surfers, like Kelly (Slater) and (Rob) Machado, all those guys. And, right now I can surf with them. It's a good opportunity for me and all the Tahitian surfers. I'm stoked for Tahiti."

If Bourez can hold onto his lead of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing series ratings, he could win a $10,000 bonus and a $10,000 one-of-a-kind Nixon tide watch featuring over two-carats of diamonds. Khodr also had the crowd going wild with a hugely successful mix of determination, tube-riding and never-say-die attack on every wave he rode. Khodr peaked on time in the final, coming so close but just short of the win.

His final scoreline: 16.5 with individual wave scores of 8.5 and 8.0 for a couple of great tubes that were slightly shorter and not as deep as Bourez's. Khodr's result today moved him up to fifth on the WQS rankings and back onto the World Tour stage in 2009

Jihad Khodr : photo ASP Rowland/Covered Images

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"It was real hard for me to get a good result this year," said Khodr. "When I got to Hawai'i I knew something was going to change and I got second place. I'm so stoked. (2009) is going to be my first year on the ASP World Tour."

The highest placed US Mainland surfers were Brett Simpson and Timmy Reyes, both from Huntington Beach. Simpson lost in semi-final with a score that would have seen him advance through the majority of heats this event - 14.07. He placed equal 7th overall. Reyes lost in the quarter finals, placing equal 13th overall.

The top placing Australians were Nic Muscroft (equal fifth, semi-final loss), and Joel Parkinson (equal fifth, semi-final loss). Defending Vans Triple Crown champion Bede Durbidge also lost in the semi-finals, placing equal 7th overall. Parkinson and Bede suffered a wave-starved heat that left them with nothing to ride and no chance at reaching the final again this year.

The final day of the Reef Hawaiian Pro started out just short of a washout. Pouring rain and howling onshore winds greeted competitors at dawn and the event came close to being called off. Then the wind began to clock and before long the rubble was transformed into airbrushed barrels. For those spectators who braved the conditions, the returns were huge.

Kekoa Bacalso : photo ASP Cestari/Covered Images

Heading on to the next event, the following Qualifying Series surfers are considered "safe" for qualifying for the 2009 ASP World Tour: Nathaniel Curran (USA), Michel Bourez (Tahiti), Chris Davidson (Australia), Gabe Kling (US), Jihad Khodr (Brazil), Josh Kerr (Aus), Kekoa Bacalso (Hawaii), Nic Muscroft (Aust), Tim Boal (France), Tiago Pires (Portugal) and Dustin Barca (Hawaii).

The Vans Triple Crown of Surfing series now moves to Sunset Beach for the men's O'Neill World Cup of Surfing and the women's Roxy Pro. The holding period for these events begins Monday, November 24 and runs through to December 6.

To examine surf updates for the coming days, visit official forecasters Wetsand.com .

Highest heat score of the day:
18.96 (9.93 & 9.03) - Michel Bourez (Tahiti) Semi-final 1

Highest single wave score today:
9.93 - Michel Bourez (Tahiti) Semi-final 1

Dusty Payne : photo ASP Cestari/Covered Images

RESULTS

MEN'S FINAL
1st. Michel Bourez (Tahiti) - 16.77 out of 20 (9.77 & 7.0) - $15,000
2nd. Jihad Khodr (Brazil) - 16.5 (8.5 & 8.0)- $7,500
3rd. Kekoa Bacalso (Hawaii) 15.83 (9.0 & 6.83) - $4,500
4th. Dusty Payne (Hawaii) 4.67 (2.67 & 2.0) - $4,400

MEN'S SEMI-FINALS:
H1: Michel Bourez (PYF), Kekoa Bacalso (HI), Nic Muscroft (Aus), Brett Simpson (CA)
H2: Jihad Khodr (Brz), Dusty Payne (HI), Joel Parkinson (Aus), Bede Durbidge (Aus)

MEN'S QUARTER FINALS:
H1: Kekoa Bacalso (HI), Michel Bourez (PYF), Evan Valiere (HI), Greg Emslie (SAf)
H2: Nic Muscroft (Aus), Brett Simpson (CA), Sunny Garcia (HI), Kieren Perrow (Aus)
H3: Bede Durbidge (Aus), Dusty Payne (HI), Chris Ward (CA), Dayyan Neve (Aus)
H4: Jihad Khodr (Brz), Joel Parkinson (Aus), Dustin Barca (HI), Tim Reyes (CA)

Men's Round of 32:
H1: Greg Emslie (SAf), Brett Simpson (US), Jay Thompson (Aus), Kekoa Cazimero (HI)
H2: Kekoa Bacalso (HI), Nic Muscroft (Aus), Tonino Benson (HI), Pancho Sullivan (HI)
H3: Kieren Perrow (Aus), Michel Bourez (PYF), Joel Centeio (HI), Taj Burrow (Aus)
H4: Sunny Garcia (HI), Evan Valiere (HI), Gabe Kling (US), Kai Otton (Aus)
H5: Dusty Payne (HI), Jihad Khodr (Brz), Roy Powers (HI), Taylor Knox (US)
H6: Bede Durbidge (Aus), Tim Reyes (US), Dustin Cuizon (HI), Makua Rothman (HI)
H7: Dustin Barca (HI), Dayyan Neve (Aus), Wiggolly Dantas (Brz), Rodrigo Dornelles (Brz)
H8: Joel Parkinson (Aus), Chris Ward (CA), Jordy Smith (SAf), Adam Melling (Aus)

Check the Full Results

Bede Durbidge : photo ASP Cestari/Covered Images

WQS ratings after the Reef Hawaiian Pro

1	Curran,Nathaniel	USA	13200
2	Bourez,Michel	PYF	12775
3	Davidson,Chris	AUS	12525
4	Kling,Gabe	USA	12476
5	Khodr,Jihad	BRA	12150
6	Kerr,Josh	AUS	12075
7	Bacalso,Kekoa	HAW	11913
8	Muscroft,Nic	AUS	11900
9	Boal,Tim	FRA	11888
10	Pires,Tiago	PRT	11750
11	Barca,Dustin	HAW	11726
12	Emslie,Greg	ZAF	11626
13	Courtney,Drew	AUS	11600
14	Lipke,Marlon	DEU	11450
14	Weare,David	ZAF	11450
16	Gudauskas,Patrick	USA	11438
17	MacDonald,Phillip	AUS	11263
18	Bettero,Hizunome	BRA	11125
19	Romao,Simao	BRA	11000
20	Simpson,Brett	USA	10838
21	Andre,Jadson	BRA	10738
22	Nicol,Yadin	AUS	10675
23	Dantas,Wiggolly	BRA	10463
24	Garcia,Sunny	HAW	10425
24	Monteiro,Raoni	BRA	10425
26	Henrique,Pedro	BRA	10263
27	Alves,Heitor	BRA	10250
28	Cansdell,Shaun	AUS	10150
29	Gossmann,Shaun	AUS	10138
30	Paulino,Pablo	BRA	10100
31	Yeomans,Nathan	USA	10050
32	Atkinson,Dion	AUS	9976
33	Neves,Leonardo	BRA	9925
34	Sedley,Leigh	AUS	9775
35	Melling,Adam	AUS	9563
36	Robertson,Adam	AUS	9552
37	Ware,Austin	USA	9550
38	Dornelles,Rodrigo	BRA	9463
39	Thompson,Jay	AUS	9413
40	Ross,Daniel	AUS	9113
41	Cuizon,Dustin	HAW	8975
42	Centeio,Joel	HAW	8963
43	Duru,Joan	FRA	8913
44	Sodre,Yuri	BRA	8700
45	Hall,Glenn	IRE	8675
46	Gonzalez,Jonathan	CNY	8625
47	Losness,Mike	USA	8600
48	Cardoso,Willian	BRA	8425
49	Silva,Andre	BRA	8388
50	Wilkinson,Matt	AUS	8225
51	Logie,Travis	ZAF	8213
51	Ohno,Masatoshi	JPN	8213
53	Hedge,Nathan	AUS	8175
54	Miranda,Bernardo	BRA	8126
55	Silva,Jean da	BRA	8100
56	Wright,Warwick	ZAF	7988
57	Payne,Dusty	HAW	7957
58	Beven,Patrick	FRA	7950
59	Bombaci,Rhys	AUS	7925
60	Gudauskas,Tanner	USA	7726
61	Zubizarreta,Gony	ESP	7675
62	Ziems,Corey	AUS	7650
63	Souza,Adriano de	BRA	7594
64	Savalli,Hugo	REU	7475
65	Flintoff,Kirk	AUS	7450
66	Gudauskas,Dane	USA	7426
67	Benson,Tonino	HAW	7375
68	Galvao,Renato	BRA	7288
69	Acero,Eneko	EUK	7275
70	Polo,Marco	BRA	7263
71	Hansen,Bobby	NZL	7150
72	Aranburu,Aritz	EUK	7113
73	Coutinho,Odirlei	BRA	7100
74	Thornton,Blake	AUS	7075
75	Mariano,Adilton	BRA	6925
76	Padaratz,Neco	BRA	6900
77	Collazo,Hodei	ESP	6888
78	Rothman,Makuakai	HAW	6882
79	Ward,Shaun	USA	6776
80	Fahrenfort,Damien	ZAF	6738
81	Bastos,Leandro	BRA	6688
82	Laulhe,Romain	FRA	6675
83	Wilson,Blake	AUS	6632
84	Gillette,Gavin	HAW	6625
85	Belo,Jano	BRA	6614
86	Campbell,Ryan	AUS	6600
87	Barron,T.J	HAW	6576
88	Ward,Chris	USA	6556
89	Rebiere,Eric	FRA	6550
90	Toth,Brian	PRI	6538
91	Stang,Che	USA	6525
92	Bortoletto,Antonio	ZAF	6513
93	Sullivan,Jarrad	AUS	6444
94	Riou,Alain	PYF	6413
95	Herdy,Guilherme	BRA	6375
96	Novak,Flynn	HAW	6338
97	Trekinho,Marcelo	BRA	6301
98	Kennedy,Stuart	AUS	6289
99	Kimmins,Clint	AUS	6288
100	Fisher,Paul	AUS	6275

Check the Full Ratings

Michel Bourez : photo ASP Cestari/Covered Images

The $815,000 Vans Triple Crown of Surfing consists of the Reef Hawaiian Pro, Haleiwa, Nov. 12-23 (6* WQS, men and women), the O'Neill World Cup of Surfing, Sunset Beach, Nov.24-Dec.6 (6*WQS men), The Roxy Pro, Sunset Beach, Nov.24-Dec.6 (WCT women), the Billabong Pipeline Masters (men), Pipeline, Dec. 8-20 (WCT); and the Billabong Pro Maui (women), Honolua Bay, Maui, Dec. 8-20 (WCT).

In addition to $815,000 in prize money, which includes a $10,000 bonus for both the men's and women's Vans Triple Crown champions, the men's champion will also receive a custom, one-of-a-kind Nixon tide watch featuring over two-carats of diamonds and valued at over $10,000.

The Vans Triple Crown of Surfing is made possible by support of the following partners:

Event Sponsors: REEF, O'NEILL, ROXY, BILLABONG
Official Energy Drink: Rock Star
Official Airline: Hawaiian Airlines
Official Lodging: Turtle Bay Resort
Official Timing: Nixon
Official Media: Surfing Magazine
Official Car Rental: Advantage
Webcast Powered By: Wetsand.com
TV Partners: Fuel TV & Rush HD
Media Support: The Honolulu Advertiser
Connectivity Powered by: RoadRunner
Auto Support: JN Chevrolet
Official Water: Hawaiian Springs Water

Previous reports:
# 1 : Reef Hawaiian Pro set to light up Hawaii's Winter season
# 2 : Swell on the way as Reef Hawaiian Pro kicks of Vans T.C.
# 3 : Reef Hawaiian Pro kick-off party set to light up Red Lion U

# 4 : Haleiwa shines for opening day of the Reef Hawaiian Pro 
# 5 : Reef Hawaiian Pro sees Haleiwa look like clean Lowers 
# 6 : Reef Hawaiian Pro men's & women's heats rock Haleiwa 

# 7 : Reef Hawaiian Pro Men's & Women's heats get a lay day 
# 8 : Reef Hawaiian Pro rests up, awaits new NW swell arrival 
# 9 : Carissa Moore claims the Women's Reef Hawaiian Pro 

www.reef.com
www.aspworldtour.com
www.triplecrownofsurfing.com

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