Taj Burrow, victory in a pool. Photo: WSL
Taj Burrow is pretty much retired. In a few weeks, it’ll be well and truly over for one of pro surfing’s staples, and pro surfing will be worse off for it. The last little while has basically been a victory lap for Taj, and he just won the QS Komune Bali Pro in waves far better than any event so far on the CT, proving that a slipping talent is not a factor in his retirement.
This is the second year in a row Taj has won the event, and it’s clear that Keramas is basically his perfect wave. “To win a couple of events here is amazing,” he said. “I love this wave. It’s really fitting as it will be one of my last WSL events. I couldn’t be happier.” Winning on a perfect wave is a good way to go out. But he almost didn’t, and the man who just about beat him isn’t someone you’ve heard of.
The waves at Keramas pumped for the entirety of the event. Four-to-six feet, sheet glass smooth, and barreling, it was almost unbelievable how good things got. But almost as unbelievable as the waves was the guy who just about beat Taj–a totally unknown Australian concrete worker hailing from Australia named Shane Holmes. From the outset of the event, Holmes was devastating. Picking apart every competitor, he easily made his way to the finals, taking out Joel Parkinson along the way.
“To be honest, I had never heard of Shane until this contest,” said Burrow. “When I saw him surf, I knew he was the real deal. Then when I saw him beat Joel (Parkinson) and was in the final, I definitely wasn’t taking it lightly.”
The final wasn’t an easy one for Taj to win, either–Holmes, in fact, looked to be the clear winner for most of the heat. By the dying minutes, Burrow was thoroughly comboed. It looked like a hopeless situation until he turned and went on a long, hollow one, then finished it with a couple of classic Burrow turns, putting himself within reach. Then, a few minutes later, he found himself on one of the best waves of the event, and he surfed it almost flawlessly. Planting himself firmly in the tube, Taj stalled until the last possible second, then smashed out two massive turns for a 9.67 and a win.
And everyone was like, “whoa.” Photo: WSL
“I was about to congratulate Shane before that one came through,” Burrow said. “I didn’t think that one would barrel, but it was big so I just stalled as hard as I could then got a few turns in and it definitely felt like I got the score, it was a real gift.”
Although Holmes came painfully close to the biggest win of his career, he isn’t too bummed with runner up. “That was such an amazing experience,” he said. “Taj is one of my favorite surfers, so to surf a final against hime at this amazing wave was so good. This was definitely the hardest QS1,000 event I’ve ever done with Taj and Parko and Bruce (Irons) all in the draw, you really just had to go out and do your best. Even though it’s my second runner-up this year, it’s been so sick to surf against some of the best in the world.”
Shane Holmes, the ultimate darkhorse. Photo: WSL
