[ SURFING ]
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Troy Brooks made some nice cuts yesterday on his way to winning the Vans Hawaiian Pro.
Brooks wins
Hawaiian Pro
Professional surfer Troy Brooks had initially planned to return home to Australia after competing in the Vans Hawaiian Pro, the first stop on the men's Vans Triple Crown of Surfing series.
But his plans quickly changed yesterday at the final day of the contest, as the 24-year-old from the Gold Coast broke through for his first career World Qualifying Series victory at the Hawaiian Pro at Haleiwa and assumed the early lead for this year's Triple Crown title.
"I tried my hardest," said Brooks, $15,000 richer from the win. "But I meant to be going home. Now I'm going to have to change my flights, rearrange a few things. I came into this contest not thinking I had a chance."
While the Hawaiian Pro was only the first of three stops in the Triple Crown, it also served as the 2003 WQS finale. The WQS is a worldwide series of events that provides the opportunity to earn points toward qualifying for the following season's elite 44-man World Championship Tour.
Brooks entered the Hawaiian Pro at No. 51 in the WQS standings. But with the win, he jumped to No. 22 and positioned himself for a spot on the 2004 WCT, and as the early Triple Crown leader also earned a wild card into the next series stop -- the Rip Curl Cup at Sunset Beach (Nov. 24-Dec. 7). The Rip Curl and the Triple Crown finale -- the Xbox Gerry Lopez Pipeline Masters at the Banzai Pipeline (Dec. 8-20) -- are both otherwise generally restricted to WCT competitors.
As expected in a premier event like the Hawaiian Pro, Brooks did not have an easy path to victory. He survived not only the four-man final heat with Armando Daltro (Brazil), Jake Paterson (Australia) and Neco Padaratz (Brazil), but three earlier heats with former six-time world champion Kelly Slater as well.
Florida's Slater went out in the semifinals, as did defending world and Triple Crown champion Andy Irons of Kauai.
"I had some hard heats -- three with Kelly," Brooks said. "It was a bit daunting at first, but I sort of got more comfortable as the day went on."
Just as in the women's Roxy Pro on Friday, Haleiwa yesterday offered predominantly left-breaking waves in the 4- to 8-foot-face range and onshore winds for the Hawaiian Pro.
In the 30-minute final, Brooks used multiple backhanded snap maneuvers to notch two high-scoring rides -- 8.17 and 8.27 points -- within the first seven minutes of the heat. Individual rides are scored with a 10-point maximum and only a surfer's best two waves count, so Brooks basically "sat" on his fellow finalists in the lineup, satisfied with his 16.44 total and not catching another wave the rest of the way.
"I had my two best waves of the day in the final, so there was no point in catching anything less than (a potential) 8-point ride (after)," he said.
His plan worked, as second-place Daltro managed just a 7-point ride for his best score, and could only combine that with a 5.23 for a 12.23 total. Paterson finished in third at 11.80, and Padaratz fourth at 10.96.
Brooks' early scores were "big pressure for the other guys," Daltro, 30, said. "We knew it was going to be really hard to find good waves like he (did)."
Still, Daltro said he was very pleased with his runner-up finish, as it ensured his re-qualification for the WCT next year.
And while his countryman Padaratz didn't win the event, either, he also had plenty of reason to celebrate. Padaratz entered the Hawaiian Pro as the top-ranked surfer on the WQS, and by reaching the final, secured himself this year's WQS title and a spot on the 2004 WCT.
Proof of some of his struggles to earn these designations, however, came in the Hawaiian Pro semis: He and Irons paddled for the same wave, nearly colliding. The judges ruled interference on Irons, effectively ending the world and Triple Crown champ's contest.
"It's been a really tough year for me," Padaratz, 27, said. "... (Irons and I) are such good friends ... I'm so sorry that happened to him. ... But for me this was my life (on the line), my sponsors back home (too). I told him our friendship would never change."
