Billabong Pro Tahiti Expected to Start Today; Damien Hobgood Officially Out
May 13, 2008 – 8:24 am PT by GregTags: ASP, Billabong Pro, Damien Hobgood, Tahiti —
Damien Hobgood has officially withdrawn from the Billabong Pro Tahiti after breaking his shoulder last month. He had been hoping to be healed enough to make the event, but with it expected to kick off today, time ran out.
“I wanted to wait until the last minute to see if it would be possible for me to surf but my arm was too weak to be able to pull that off,” Hobgood said. “Also if I would have hit my shoulder again, that could have put me out for a lot longer and after making that mistake last year, I didn’t want to repeat it. I should be able to surf Fiji so I am really looking forward to getting back in the water for that event.”
Hobgood is the defending champ at the contest (he’s pictured above in ‘07) and will be replaced by Aussie Nic Muscroft. The next ASP World Tour event is the Globe Fiji and Hobgood is the last winner of that contest which was last held in 2006.
Because of the change in seeding, first-round matchips have changed for the Billabong Pro. Check out the latest order below and then catch the webcast later today on billabongpro.com.
Billabong Pro Tahiti Round 1 Match-Ups:
Heat 1: Dean Morrison (AUS), Luke Munro (AUS), Daniel Ross (AUS)
Heat 2: Kai Otton (AUS), Leonardo Neves (BRA), Ricky Basnett (ZAF)
Heat 3: Bobby Martinez (USA), Roy Powers (HAW), Royden Bryson (ZAF)
Heat 4: Jeremy Flores (FRA), Tim Reyes (USA), Travis Logie (ZAF)
Heat 5: Andy Irons (HAW), Ben Dunn (AUS), Tiago Pires (PRT)
Heat 6: Joel Parkinson (AUS), Damien Hobgood (USA), Aritz Aranburu (EUK)
Heat 7: Bede Durbidge (AUS), Dayyan Neve (AUS), Chris Ward (USA)
Heat 8: Kelly Slater (USA), C.J. Hobgood (USA), Manoa Drollet (PYF)
Heat 9: Mick Fanning (AUS), Pancho Sullivan (HAW), Jamie O’Brien (HAW)
Heat 10: Taj Burrow (AUS), Tom Whitaker (AUS), Bruno Santos (BRA)
Heat 11: Adrian Buchan (AUS), Jordy Smith (ZAF), Mikael Picon (FRA)
Heat 12: Adriano de Souza (BRA), Jay Thompson (AUS), Heitor Alves (BRA)
Heat 13: Taylor Knox (USA), Kieren Perrow (AUS), Jihad Khodr (BRA)
Heat 14: Luke Stedman (AUS), Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA), Michael Campbell (AUS)
Heat 15: Dane Reynolds (USA), Fredrick Patacchia (HAW), Ben Bourgeois (USA)
Heat 16: Neco Padaratz (BRA), Bruce Irons (HAW), Daniel Wills (AUS)
