Tuesday, December 18, 2001
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Younger Irons The nightmares are over for professional surfer Bruce Irons.
finally wins Pipeline
Bruce Irons holds off
Slater to claim final leg
of Vans Triple CrownBy Brandon Lee
blee@starbulletin.comThree years after Jake Paterson snatched the 1998 event title from Irons in the last few seconds to relegate him to second place, Irons finally beat all challengers yesterday at the 31st annual Xbox Gerry Lopez Pipeline Masters, the third and final jewel of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing.
Recognized as an outstanding performer at the treacherous Banzai Pipeline break of Ehukai Beach for the last several years, Irons, 21, was crowned a "Pipe Master" for the first time after narrowly defeating former multiple world and Pipeline champion Kelly Slater in 3-to-10-foot (face value) waves. The Pipeline Masters is the longest running professional surfing contest in the U.S.
"This means everything," said Irons, of Kauai. "Out of all the other contests out there, this is the one that means the most to me.
"This is the contest I've been dreaming about. I always think back to when Jake Paterson beat me. I went to sleep many nights thinking about that, but now that's erased from my mind."
Held the past two days as an invitation-only event for the first time, Irons defeated a 48-man field comprised of former Pipe Masters, 2001 World Championship Tour event winners, select WCT invitees, Pipeline specialists, "young guns" and wild cards.
An up-and-comer from the young-gun category, Irons totaled 24.10 (out of 30) points for his top three scoring waves to Slater's 23.55. World champion-elect CJ Hobgood was a distant third with 11.15, while another young gun, Jamie O'Brien, took fourth with 9.15.
"By far," said Irons, when asked if the victory was the biggest accomplishment of his young career. "Everyone picked (for the contest) was the real deal. It feels good to beat some of the very best who surf Pipe."
Irons began the final by splitting a wave with Slater: He went right and rode the backdoor section of the break, while Slater went left. Irons' barrel ride for an 8.50 score on the wave to Slater's 2.00 gave him the early lead. He finished his scoring with 7.00 and 8.60 rides.
Slater later posted a 9.50 (highest score of the final) and 8.25, but needed a 6.36 in the final minutes of the heat to overtake Irons. He never got the score, as both Mother Nature and Irons combined to deny a good wave to the Floridian who will return to the WCT tour next season after a three-year hiatus.
Neither Hobgood nor O'Brien threatened during the final.
"I kind of sat on Kelly for the final eight minutes," Irons said. "It was real nerve-wracking, but no real waves came in, either. If a wave came in, Kelly can pretty much get any score he needs."
Also yesterday, Hawaii's Myles Padaca won the Triple Crown title, which goes to the best overall performer in the three series events. Padaca, 30, edged Irons' older brother Andy for the prestigious award, which only eight other men have won in the 18-year history of the series.
Padaca and Andy Irons each won one event, with Padaca capturing the Rip Curl Cup on December 7, and Andy Irons the G-Shock Hawaiian Pro four weeks ago. While he was eliminated in the first round at the Xbox, Padaca made one more final than the elder Irons (finishing third at the G-Shock). Andy Irons was eliminated by Bruce in the semifinals yesterday.
"For me, it's like winning the world title," said Padaca, who does not surf on the WCT tour and dedicated the win to his recently passed father, Tom.
"For any Hawaiian not on the tour, this is the biggest title you can achieve. It feels great to be added to the list of (past winners) Michael Ho, Derek Ho, Sunny Garcia, etc. It's been the biggest month of my life."
Bruce Irons' victory at the Xbox made it a clean sweep for Hawaii surfers at this year's Triple Crown events. Combined with Padaca's Triple Crown title, Hawaii's O'Brien made it made it a state sweep of the overall awards as well when he was named Triple Crown Rookie of the Year. The 18-year-old O'Brien was the youngest competitor at the Xbox and experienced his first winter in all three events.