Kaua'i's Irons barrels way to victory in Tahiti meet

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

Surfing's No. 1 ranking continued to be Irons-clad.

Andy Irons, of Hanalei, Kaua'i, slips into a barrel in the 3- to 5-foot surf at the Billabong Pro Teahupoo in Tahiti. Pierre Tostee photo

In barreling waves of 3 to 5 feet, Irons won three heats yesterday, including a thrilling victory over Australian Luke Egan in the one-on-one final.

"I'm absolutely out of my mind right now," Irons said in a telephone interview. "I rank this contest up there with the Pipe Masters because the wave is so heavy. It's as big a win as any I've had."

Were it not for an iron-willed performance, he might have had to settle for second. Egan held the lead for 38 of the 40 minutes allotted in the final heat.

"He pretty much had me on the ropes the whole way," said Irons, 23. "But I kept pushing it. The wave over here is so hollow, you can get barreled and get a good score on any one."

With less than two minutes remaining, Irons finally captured the lead. But Egan countered with a 6.0 ride to reclaim the lead with less than 10 seconds left.

Just before the final buzzer, Irons caught a 4-foot wave and pulled into the barrel for a score of 7.25 that gave him the victory.

"I literally turned and took off on that last wave without even looking," he said. "I knew the scores were close and I wanted to make sure I got one last wave."

In the final tally, Irons' top three waves scored 22.65 to Egan's 20.50. Irons earned $30,000 for the victory, and said he surprised himself with yesterday's performance.

"I was hoping for bigger waves because I've never done well here when it's smaller," he said. "I just kept getting lucky, finding all the barrels."

In the three heats he surfed yesterday, Irons rode four different waves that resulted in scores of at least 9.0. He scored convincing victories over Florida's Shea Lopez and Australian Trent Munro in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively.

Yesterday's contest was the third of 12 stops on the 2002 tour. Irons has won the last two contests, and has 3,132 total points. Cory Lopez of Florida is second with 2,112.

"There are so many contests ahead, I can't even think about that yet," Irons said. "But it's nice to be at the top for now."

Kalani Robb of O'ahu's North Shore tied for third in yesterday's contest. He was eliminated by Egan in the semifinals and earned $10,000. Robb is currently ranked No. 6 on the tour.

Irons' victory completed a sweep for Kaua'i surfers, as Keala Kennelly won the women's division Sunday.