CAROL CUNNINGHAM / CUNNINGHAMPHOTOS.COM Hawaii pro surfer Jamie O'Brien, who lives on the North Shore, earned $30,000 for his victory in the Rip Curl Pro Pipeline Masters yesterday.

O’Brien breaks through

The 21-year-old Hawaii surfer
earns the victory at Pipeline
sooner than even he expected

Many thought it would eventually happen. But Jamie O'Brien made sure it did quickly.

The 21-year-old Hawaii pro surfer, who grew up and still lives in a house right at the infamous Banzai Pipeline on the North Shore, is officially a Pipeline Master. He earned the coveted distinction by winning the 34th annual Rip Curl Pro Pipeline Masters yesterday.

"It was always a dream -- I never thought it would come this soon," said O'Brien, who also earned $30,000 along with the title. "A lot of people been telling me, 'You can do it, you can win this thing.' ... (Still) I'm amazed to be here today, holding this trophy. The money doesn't mean nothing to me. It's all about this win and seeing my name" next to other former winners.

The Pipeline Masters is the longest-running contest, and one of the most prestigious, in the world, serving as the finale for both the World Championship Tour season and the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, a series of three North Shore events.

Though young, O'Brien has for several years already been recognized as one of the best surfers at the Pipeline. A Rip Curl rider, but not a WCT surfer, O'Brien received a sponsor's wild card into the main event.

While he hadn't won the Pipeline Masters before, he did have previous big results at the break. O'Brien fought his way through the trials segment in 2001 to make the Pipeline Masters final for the first time (finishing fourth), and he also won another major international event, the Pipeline Pro, in early 2003.

Taking one big name down after another in yesterday's 10- to 20-foot-face waves and qualifying again for the Pipeline Masters final, O'Brien then proceeded to essentially wrap up what was a 45-minute last heat in the first 13.

O'Brien notched an 8.00 (out of 10 maximum) wave score on a barreling Pipeline left 7 minutes in, and then followed that 6 minutes later with a near-perfect 9.97 for a bigger and deeper Pipeline barrel ride.

On that ride, "I was going so fast in that barrel," O'Brien said. Not sure he would make it, "that thing went so hollow, and it just let me out. I felt the vibes on that barrel, the vibes like the spirit was with me."

Surfers are scored on their top two rides, and with a 17.97 total and three rides overall before the other three finalists had more than one between them, O'Brien had a lead he would not surrender and his final winning score.

Finishing in second through fourth place in the all-Hawaii final were: Sunny Garcia (13.64), Kalani Robb (11.33) and Bruce Irons (10.37).

CAROL CUNNINGHAM / CUNNINGHAMPHOTOS.COM Hawaii's Sunny Garcia won his sixth Triple Crown championship after finishing second at the Pipeline Masters.

With his runner-up finish and also a win at the Triple Crown opener -- the Hawaiian Pro at Haleiwa -- last month, Garcia extended his record by winning a sixth career Triple Crown championship as the series' best overall performer. Australia's Phillip MacDonald and Irons finished in second and third, respectively.

Garcia, 34, rebounded well from sitting out most of last year after two knee surgeries, by finishing at No. 8 in the final 2004 WCT rankings. He is the highest-rated Hawaii surfer after Andy Irons (Bruce's older brother), who wrapped up his third straight world championship this year. The older Irons was also the two-time defending Triple Crown and Pipeline Masters winner, but was eliminated on Friday.

"I did what I set out to do," Garcia said. "I wanted to win (the Triple Crown), and I got a little choked up after I did. This means a lot. ... I'm debating whether I should retire after next year, but I'm gonna go out and just have a fun year."

With his result, 25-year-old Bruce Irons qualified for the 2005 WCT. Fresh from his huge win at the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational at Waimea Bay on Wednesday, Irons needed to finish fifth or better at the Pipeline Masters to qualify, and ended up fourth and ranked No. 23 -- four spots ahead of the Top 27 cut line (the top 15 from the World Qualifying Series plus two injury wild cards also make the 2005 WCT field of 44).

"That was my only concern (yesterday) -- to qualify," said Irons, the 2001 Pipeline Masters champ. "Making the final is great ... and to win it would have been insane, but Jamie was in a rhythm -- just on it -- and he deserved it."

Robb finished the year at No. 15 after making his first Pipeline Masters final. Eliminated earlier in the event, Australia's Joel Parkinson (second round) finished No. 2, and six-time former world champion Kelly Slater (semifinals) of Florida, No. 3.