G-Shock Triple Crown of Surfing
Australian Taj Burrow attacks a wave during the
G-Shock Triple Crown of Surfing yesterday at Sunset Beach.

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Beachley claims first
women’s Triple Crown

By Greg Ambrose
Star-Bulletin

Australia's Layne Beachley enjoyed her first victory of the season Wednesday so much that she treated herself to another yesterday.

By winning the last two contests of the year, Beachley also won the inaugural Women's Triple Crown of Surfing.

The historic title is intended to go to the wahine surfer who shows the greatest stamina and versatility in the Triple Crown contests, and Beachley did just that.

Beachley put on a display of poise and power that hasn't been seen in Hawaii since Margo Oberg and Lynne Boyer dominated competition in the '70s and '80s.

Beachley took second place in the OP Women's Pro at Haleiwa, then cranked her already impressive surfing up a notch at Sunset Beach to win the Quiksilver Roxy Pro, a $12,500 World Qualifying Series event, and the $25,000 Quiksilver Roxy Pro, a World Championship Tour contest.

"I'm sky high right now, I can't think of any way to improve my life," Beachley said, adding with a laugh, "except maybe pay off my mortgage."

Sunset Beach was the scene for another triumph for the Aussies yesterday when Michael Rommelse won the $80,000 Rip Curl World Cup of Surfing, which closed the men's WQS season.

The waves weren't prime by any definition, but the forecast called for worse conditions through the weekend.

So contest directors sent the men and women contestants out into a 4- to 6-foot swell that was shredded by stiff trade winds.

The pros made the waves look better than they were as they hustled and hassled for the consistent medium-sized waves, though the patient ones who waited for the bigger north sets got the highest scores when they connected the peak to the inside section.

In the final heat, Rommelse, a 10-year world tour veteran, used his contest savvy to take a quick lead.

"Once you've got your three scoring waves under your belt, you can wait for the good ones, rather than be selective early and panic at the end," he said.

By the time Hawaii's Pancho Sullivan had shaken off his first-wave jitters, Rommelse was sitting patiently out the back, waiting for the choice set waves.

Still, Sullivan nearly stole the contest with a gallant late charge when he cut loose on a pair of good waves, but his surge fell two points short when he ran out of time.

"I just needed 30 seconds more for another good wave," he said.

Still, his second-place finish has inspired the 24-year-old North Shore resident to try next season to qualify for the elite WCT.

"It has been a dream ever since I was a kid, so I'm going to go for it on the tour," said Sullivan. "I want to experience surfing with the world's best surfers at the great locations that are on the tour now."

This was only the second world tour victory of Rommelse's career, which made the win sweeter.

"This is a very satisfying victory. I was just happy to be in the final, so I took the pressure off myself and just went out and had a good surf."

At 30, the tour isn't as exciting to him as when he first started, but to Rommelse, "It's still the best job in the world."

There was no last-minute drama in the women's final heat.

Beachley steamrolled her competitors, catching and shredding the biggest and best waves.

She didn't tiptoe through the lineup like many of the other contestants, but aggressively went after the waves. On the more critical peaks she was already setting her rail halfway down the wave face while dropping in, a rarity among women surfers at Sunset.

"Sunset is all about knowing the wave," said Hawaii's Rochelle Ballard, who placed third. "Once you know the lineup, you get the best waves, and win. And Layne really knows Sunset."

Long after the final horn sounded, Beachley was still walking on water.

"It's a magical moment," she gushed. "I finished second in the world, I won my favorite event on the world tour at my favorite wave, and I made history by winning the first women's Triple Crown.

"It's pure magic. It's something that never happens, and will probably never happen again."

She also won $13,000 for the three contests and a $7,500 bonus for the Triple Crown title.

Though exhausted by the long season and having surfed seven heats in two days, Beachley, 25, was already making plans to improve her status next season.

Beachley will stay in Hawaii until February, surfing and training for the tour.

"I'm positive here, and happiest. That is how I'll warm up for next season. I would love to live here in Hawaii and leave only to compete on the tour."

She has always had the perfect name for a surfer, but in the glow of victory, Layne Beachley sees it in a new light for next season.

"It's the perfect world champion name," she said.

The WCT season for the men will end with the $120,600 Chiemsee Gerry Lopez Pipe Masters at the Banzai Pipeline. The waiting period begins Monday and lasts through Dec. 20. For contest information, call 638-5024.