GOLD COAST, Australia (AP) — American Kelly Slater won the opening event of the men’s surfing world tour by beating defending champion Taj Burrow of Australia in the Quiksilver Pro final Wednesday.
While Burrow earned the highest single wave score of 7.17, 10-time world champion Slater won overall 11.20 to 10.17 to become the first man to win the event three times.
Both men struggled to post a decent score throughout the decider at Snapper Rocks, and with just 10 minutes remaining the contest was still open. Burrow and Slater repeatedly fell off waves with some scoring potential.
Portugal’s Tiago Pires and South Africa’s Jordy Smith shared third place.
