DEAN SENSUI / DSENSUI@STARBULLETIN.COM
Kauai's Andy Irons wants to become the third Hawaii native to win a world title. He can do it at the Rip Curl Cup.
Irons hopes to prove No one ever questioned Andy Irons' talent. Since his teen years, the Kauai surfer has been recognized as one of the world's most progressive and radical wave riders.
his mettle with title
The Kauai native can become
Heavy surf pounds North Shore
just the third from Hawaii
to win the WCTBy Brandon Lee
Special to the Star-BulletinWhat had been in doubt was whether Irons could harness all of his natural ability and youthful exuberance and translate it to success at surfing's highest competitive level -- the elite World Championship Tour.
Until just a few years ago, the knock on Irons was that, as good as he was in free-surfing sessions, he rarely excelled at professional contests -- save for the occasional win.
Now, however, at 24, it is Irons who is consistently doling out the knocks to the rest of the competition. With the WCT at Oahu's North Shore for its penultimate event, the Hanalei, Kauai, native has a commanding lead in the overall standings and is poised to become just Hawaii's third world champion.
"I think it was just maturity," Irons said of his progression. "When I first started going on the tour, I was just out of high school. Everyone's going to make their mistakes. And I made my own; I definitely had to figure it out myself.
"I just have so much fun with (professional surfing), it's hard to look at it as a job," he added. "But it really is; it's work. That's when you know stuff you may not want to do, you go out and do them because there's rewards for it."
In 25 previous years of the WCT, Derek Ho (1993) and Sunny Garcia (2000) were the only Hawaii surfers to win world titles.
A victory or runner-up finish for Irons at the Rip Curl Cup at Sunset Beach, currently under way, assures him of his first world championship, regardless of what unfolds next month at the season-ending Xbox Gerry Lopez Pipeline Masters at Ehukai Beach.
But the pressure is really on Irons' competitors, as he has 1,000 points on the closest, Australian Luke Egan. Egan must at least place first and third over the last two events to pass Irons. Fellow Aussies Taj Burrow and Mick Lowe, currently Nos. 3 and 4, respectively, also have slim mathematical shots, but they basically have to win twice.
Garcia is one among many who believe that Irons is on too much of a roll to let the world title slip away. Garcia, a 32-year-old tour veteran, is a close friend and lived just down the street in Hanalei, until recently moving to California.
"I'm stoked for Andy," Garcia said. "Andy is like my little brother ... I think the other guys have to (basically) win both events and Andy's got to lose. Me hanging out with Andy all the time, I don't think that's going to happen."
Irons is in his eighth pro year -- the last five of them spent among the world's top 46 surfers on the WCT. His previous best finish came last year, when he wound up No. 10.
He came out hard this year, winning the second and third WCT events -- the Bells Beach (Australia) contest and the Tahiti Pro. After a series of third-round losses around the midpoint of the 12-event season, Irons rebounded last month with a runner-up finish in France, then a win at Spain for his current advantage, also surpassing his career WCT victory total by one in a single season.
"The anticipation (of winning the world title) is insane, it's gnarly," he said. "It's hard to go to sleep sometimes. My name next to any of (the previous world champions), especially Derek and Sunny -- they've just been heroes to me since I was a kid -- it would be incredible."
As important as the world title is, Irons ranks a Triple Crown of Surfing championship a close second. A three-event North Shore series -- the last two being the WCT's Rip Curl Cup and Pipeline Masters -- the Triple Crown championship goes to the best overall performer.
After a fourth-place showing at the first contest -- the Hawaiian Pro last week, a non-WCT event -- Irons has the rare opportunity to clinch the world and Triple Crown titles during the same year (Garcia was last), and do it before the home crowd.
"It's always been a dream and goal of mine to do well in the Triple Crown, and hopefully win one," Irons said. "I'm really excited. It ain't over yet, but it's been incredible just to be home. ... I've never been in this situation, so I'm just enjoying it. It's not too bad being in my shoes."
Irons' parents still live in Hanalei and he retreats there to surf and relax whenever he's not on tour. His younger brother, Bruce, is also a pro surfer, though he does not compete on the WCT.
"When it all comes together, it's pretty nice," Irons said. "This is probably the most content I've ever been in my life."
Association of Surfing Professionals WCT
