8 July 2008 Golf Day Starts Billabong Pro

World’s top surfers get Billabong Pro underway with Golf Day
JEFFREYS BAY (Tuesday, July 8, 2008) – The inaugural Billabong Pro Golf Day has drawn a host of the world’s best surfers to the Jack Nicklaus St Francis Links today in the lead up to the start of the R2.4 million Billabong Pro, the fifth of 11 stops on the 2008 ASP World Tour, which runs from July 10-20.
 Created to raise funds for the Supertubes Foundation and honour 1999 ASP World Champion Mark ‘Occy’ Occhilupo who retired at the end of 2007, the golf day features four-balls that include one of the world’s top 45 ranked surfers.
 Occhilupo, along with the likes of current World No. 2 Joel Parkinson (AUS), three time ASP World Champion Andy Irons, his brother Bruce and fellow Hawaiian Fred Patacchia, have all swapped their surfboards for golf clubs for the day and will be attending the dinner and auction of golf and surfing memorabilia this evening.
 The fund-raiser will benefit the Supertubes Foundation, a non-profit organisation that keeps the beaches of Jeffreys Bay in a pristine condition and repatriates indigenous plants from building sites, replanting them in the dunes along the water’s edge in the town.
 The golf day begins 12 days of non-stop action as the eyes of the surfing world are firmly fixed on the bustling coastal town and home of Supertubes, universally acknowledged as one of the planet’s premier point breaks. In addition to the highest level of surfing competition there is live music, autograph signing sessions with the surf stars and all the razzmatazz that surrounds globally renowned sports events.
 The line-up for the Billabong Pro includes eight-time ASP World Champion and runaway ratings leader Kelly Slater (USA), a three-time winner of the event who has won three of the four events so far this year, along with 2007 event champion Taj Burrow and fellow Australians Joel Parkinson and Bede Durbidge, the current No. 2 and No. 3 in the rankings respectively.
 Local hopes will be pinned on rookie ASP World Tour campaigner Jordy Smith (Durban) who rocketed into the global spotlight two years ago when claiming third place in the event as a wildcard. Smith, currently ranked No. 19, will be joined by fellow South Africans Travis Logie (Durban), Ricky Basnett (Bluff) and local Eastern Cape standout Royden Bryson (East London).
The main event will be preceded by the VonZipper Trials where 12 contenders will lock horns in a battle for the three available wildcards that enable them test their skills against the top three seeds. This year’s trialists include eight South African hopefuls taking on four internationals who include Occhilupo, American rising star Granger Larsen and teenage superstars Tamaroa McComb (TAH) and Peterson Crisanto (BRA), the winner and runner-up in the under 16 division of the recent ISA World Junior Championships in France.
 All the action will be covered live on the state-of-the-art webcasts which can be found at www.billabongpro.com and feature multiple camera angles, live scoring and expert commentary in English, Portuguese, Spanish and French. The website also carries in-depth news, interviews and images along with the VonZipper ‘Say What?’ competition where viewers can win prizes if their questions for the stars are selected.
 The Billabong Pro will also be covered in daily television highlights packages premiering on SuperSport 6 at 10pm each evening and repeated on various channels of SuperSport throughout the following day alongside numerous national news bulletins and plenty of radio and print coverage.
 The Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay runs from July 10-20, an 11 day waiting period during which contest director Mike Parson can select the best possible conditions for the 63 heats required to determine the champion. 
The contest looks likely to get underway on Thursday morning as ‘ideal’ conditions are forecast for Wednesday with strong Westerly winds and a rising swell that is predicted to produce overhead waves at Supertubes.
 About Supertubes Foundation
The mission of the Supertubes Foundation is to rescue endemic and endangered plants from sites being developed, to beautify Jeffreys Bay with rescued plants and to protect the coastal dune area, upgrade beach access and boardwalks as well as to co-ordinate beach cleanups.
Supertubes Foundation is a joint venture between three local surfing clubs which is entirely funded by donations and fundraising through projects initiated by the members and employees of the Foundation. The Foundation has made visual improvements in the Jeffreys Bay area since its inception in 2002.
More on the Foundation can be found at www.supertubesfoundation.com