Sunday, November 25, 2001

[ SURFING ]

COURTESY OF PIERRE TOSTEE
Andy Irons is coming off an impressive victory in huge waves at
the G-Shock Hawaiian Pro. Above, Irons in the starring role as a
fly on a blue wall in Tahiti.

Irons steams toward future

Editor's note: This is the last in a series of feature articles on the five highly rated Hawaii pro surfers who have a shot at the world title going into the tour's season-ending men's and women's events that run from Nov. 26 to Dec. 7.

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By Nick Abramo
nabramo@starbulletin.com

Power surfing.

Andy Irons.

They go hand-in-hand.

And Irons gets a chance to take his radical, progressive gig a step further at the Rip Curl Cup at Sunset Beach.

Irons, coming off the biggest victory of his career at the G-Shock Hawaiian Pro last week, is ranked sixth on the Association of Surfing Professionals World Championship Tour, and he has a shot at the world title in the season-ender at Sunset. The holding period starts tomorrow and runs through Dec. 7.

"My goal is to make the Top 5," Irons said. "As for the world title, if I can make it into the final (at Sunset), then I'll go for it, no holds barred."

Thanks to the victory in the Hawaiian Pro, Irons also has the early lead in the Vans Triple Crown title race.

Despite his continued growth and improvement on the tour the past several years, the 23-year-old still sees himself as virtually the same person he was while growing up and surfing in Hanalei, Kauai.

In surfing circles, Irons has been highly touted as a potential world champion since he was a young teenager.

"People have always expected so much, and have put the pressure on me" Irons said. "But I've also put the pressure on myself to do well."

Irons' highest year-end tour ranking is No. 16, and it looks like he'll be moving up this year.

Andy's brother, Bruce, is also an enormously popular, world-class surfer.

They have different styles.

"I have a tendency to do more power turns and he does more aerials and futuristic stuff, real rad airs," Andy said. "He's a little more laid back and I'm a little more competitive. He would do really well if he put his mind fully on competing, but I back him either way."

Irons also enjoys doing moves such as grab-rail reverses and "floaters on sections that people usually don't do floaters on."

And he boils down his overall style to this: "I try to do big power moves and make it look functional."

Rip Curl Cup Who: Top men's pro surfers What: Season-ending Association of Surfing Professionals World Championship Tour event and second leg of the Vans Triple Crown Where: Sunset Beach, Oahu's North Shore When: Nov. 26 to Dec. 7 Extra reason to watch: The 2001 men's world champion will be crowned Hotline: 596-SURF Web site: triplecrownofsurfing.com ASP ratings Men's World Championship Tour leaders: 1. C.J. Hobgood, Florida, 3,094 points; 2. Mark Occhilupo, Australia, 2,816; 3. Cory Lopez, Florida, 2,780; 4. Taylor Knox, California, 2,552; 5. Sunny Garcia, Hawaii, 2,422; 6. Andy Irons, Hawaii, 2,365; 7. Jake Paterson, Australia, 2,328.

While traveling the world for contests, Irons hangs with fellow Hawaii surfers Kalani Robb and defending world champion Sunny Garcia as well as Florida's Cory Lopez.

"It's a good group," he said. "Uncle Sunny watches out for us and keeps us in the program. He's been in it (world tour) for a long time, and we learn a lot from him."

When asked for his best session of 2001, Irons began to talk about Teahupoo, Tahiti and some perfect 4-6 foot waves, but he quickly changed his mind.

"The OP Boat Trip at No Kandus (a break in Indonesia) had some memorable surf," he said. "I was with Shane Dorian, my brother and (world title ratings leader) CJ Hobgood, and there were some unbelievable lefts with some 10-second barrels all day, every day. It's not too often you get to be in a barrel that long."

Irons, who always looked up to surfers such as Garcia, Kaipo Jaquias, Tom Curren and Mark Occhilupo, is also inspired by some of the younger surfers out there trying to push the sport's envelope.

"There's so many kids out there who are young and good and coming up," he said. "And there's guys like Joel Parkinson and Mick Fanning and others out there now who have a lot of style and power, and it keeps me that much more psyched up."

Not that he needs to get any more psyched up than he already is with the world tour and Triple Crown titles within reach.

It's about as close as a grinding 10-footer away, measured from the back of the wave, of course.