Twenty-year old Brett Burcher (Ulladulla, NSW) went home with the richest takings on the Pro Junior surfing circuit today, earning a massive $10 000 after defeating Tahitian born Tamaroa McComb (Burleigh Heads) during the Red Bull Junior Surf Masters Final presented by Mick Fanning at Cronulla.
In what couldn’t have been a more equally matched final, Burcher and McComb who advanced into the main event through the qualifying trials on Friday and went on to net the highest single wave scores throughout the two-day event, went toe to toe in a dramatic final that saw Burcher edge out McComb by the narrowest of margins. Burcher defeated McComb with a 15.65 heat total (out of 20.00) to McComb’s 15.25.
“I am so happy right now, this win is just huge for me,” Burcher said. “Tamaroa is an amazing surfer and he almost had me in that heat but I just kept my head and was lucky that I caught that set wave at the end.”
While Burcher took an early lead, a priority error around the halfway mark saw him slip into second place behind McComb who stormed ahead with an 8.50 (out of ten). It wasn’t until the final three minutes that Burcher stroked into one of the better looking waves of the afternoon - a long open-faced left hander - that allowed him four massive backhand snaps to earn an amazing 8.90 (out of 10.00) to become the 2009 Red Bull Junior Surf Masters Champion.
