ASSOCIATED PRESS Sunny Garcia is looking for the second jewel of the Triple Crown at Sunset Beach after taking the the Vans Hawaiian Pro.

Irons finds form

The champ is officially back in championship form. And not a moment too soon.

After a disappointing early-round loss in the first event of the prestigious Vans Triple Crown of Surfing a week and a half ago, current three-time world champion Andy Irons of Kauai rebounded with his first attempt yesterday in the second event -- the O'Neill World Cup at Sunset Beach -- by posting the highest single-wave score so far in the contest and the highest overall heat score of the day.

Irons scored 9.60 points (out of 10 maximum) after a nice tube ride early in his fourth-round heat (because of his ranking, he was seeded directly into this round), and was able to hold on for the heat victory and advance to the final day by adding a late 7.17 score for a 16.77 total.

"I just had that one wave to start with," said the 26-year-old from Hanalei. "I was wondering if (losing early) was going to happen all over again. You've really got to monitor the ocean and try to position yourself the best. It's kind of a gamble. It's by far the hardest place to win -- just playing the field, the take-off zone."

Waves were in the 8- to 16-foot-face range yesterday for the third day of the World Cup. The final rounds will likely run today, with the swell still expected to be in the 10- to 12-foot range.

Irons also happens to be the two-time defending Triple Crown champ -- a distinction that goes to the best overall performer in the three series events on Oahu's North Shore.

He needs very high results at the World Cup and the subsequent Rip Curl Pro Pipeline Masters later this month to have a shot at defending his Triple Crown titles. But Irons did place second at the World Cup last year and has also won the Pipeline Masters the last two years.

"It would be awesome to win here," Irons said. "Sunset's a world-class spot. But I think the Triple Crown is way out of my reach now. (Current Triple Crown leader Sunny Garcia is) so solid and surfing so well, that it's nearly impossible to beat him now."

Indeed, record five-time Triple Crown winner Sunny Garcia of Hawaii, who won the Vans Hawaiian Pro to start this year's series, also advanced to the final day of the World Cup by winning his heat yesterday.

Some of the other big names to advance included former six-time world champ Kelly Slater and North Shore veteran Pancho Sullivan -- both out of the same fourth-round heat, with Sullivan in first place and Slater in second. Current world No. 2 Joel Parkinson of Australia also won his heat, but countryman and defending World Cup champ Jake Paterson placed third in his and failed to qualify for the next round.

"At this size, Sunset's not nearly at its optimum; it's about 2 to 4 feet too small from what we really want, and (the swell is) kinda west right now, so we don't have the long wall," said Slater, who is 32 and from Florida. "So it's a little tricky -- you gotta wait for sets."

"I didn't really perform to the level I'm capable of," said the 31-year-old Sullivan, who still received 16.36 for his top two waves, the second-best total of the day. "Any time you have Kelly in your heat, you know you have to surf to the highest level you're capable of ... and I'm just really stoked to make it out of this heat. Hopefully, I can build a rhythm from there."

Other Hawaii surfers to advance to the final 32 included Marcus Hickman, Kalani Robb, Nathan Carroll, Daniel Jones, Ian Walsh, Fred Patacchia Jr., Brian Pacheco and Irons' younger brother, Bruce.

Pacheco, Patacchia, Walsh and Robb won their heats, while the others placed second to also move on.

The opening ceremony for the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau big-wave event was held yesterday at Waimea Bay. This is an invitee-only event for which quality surf at the bay must measure at least 40 feet in face value. The waiting period for "The Eddie" starts today and runs through Feb. 28.

Twenty-four of the world's best big-wave riders, including defending champion Slater and Aikau's younger brother, Clyde -- also a former winner, will participate if the event is run, and there is also a list of 24 alternates. The event was last held in 2002.