Kaua'i surfer near world title

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

Andy Irons of Kaua'i could become the third surfer from Hawai'i to win the professional world championship. Advertiser library photo

Andy Irons has no intention of letting go.

"I never, ever thought I could put together a year like this," said Irons, who is from Hanalei, Kaua'i. "But it's not over yet. I know I still have work to do."

Irons enters this week's Vans Triple Crown of Surfing as the No. 1-ranked surfer on the elite World Championship Tour (WCT). He has held the top spot since winning the second contest of the year back in April.

Two of the three contests in the Triple Crown will count toward the world championship standings — the Rip Curl Cup at Sunset Beach from Nov. 24-Dec. 7, and the Xbox Gerry Lopez Pipeline Masters from Dec. 8-20.

If Irons fairs well in either event, he can clinch his first professional world championship. Only two other male surfers from Hawai'i have won the world title: Derek Ho in 1993, and Sunny Garcia in 2000.

"I'm not even thinking about that right now," said Irons, 24. "I'm just going to do what I've been doing all year, and that's doing my own thing and not worrying about the other guys."

The strategy has worked wonders.

There have been 10 WCT contests so far this year. Irons has won three, and placed in the top 10 of four others.

No other surfer has won more than one contest this year.

"It was just a matter of changing my state of mind," said Irons, who had a previous career-high ranking of No. 10 last year. "I'm not a rookie anymore, and I'm not a veteran yet. I'm just comfortable with where I am."

That comfort zone has resulted in 7,262 points through the first 10 contests of this year. Luke Egan of Australia is No. 2 with 6,276, followed by fellow Australians Taj Burrow (5,932), Michael Lowe (5,744) and Joel Parkinson (5,556).

The most points any surfer can win in a contest is 1,200. With that in mind, Irons' lead is not insurmountable, although he is in a favorable position.

"As far as I'm concerned, those guys are chasing me, so I'm just going to worry about myself," he said. "Of course, I want them to lose early to make it easier for me, but it's not like I'm going to sit there with voodoo dolls or anything like that."

Irons said he has already surpassed his own expectations. After he won the Billabong Pro Teahupoo in Tahiti in May, he admitted being excited because "I figured I had a good shot to make the top five" of the final rankings.

Instead, he has become the surfer to beat.

But in an odd twist, his No. 1 ranking will force him to compete against the wildcard entries in the opening rounds of the Triple Crown contests. The wildcards will consist of Hawai'i's top surfers who do not compete on the world tour.

Among them are his younger brother, Bruce Irons, and defending Triple Crown champion Myles Padaca.

"I'm definitely going to have the hardest heats," he said. "That's the only bad part of being No. 1, I guess."

But Irons is not exactly a slouch in the North Shore's powerful waves. Last year, he won the Hawaiian Pro at Hale'iwa Ali'i Beach and placed second in the overall Triple Crown standings.

"Hawai'i is definitely the place to do it," he said. "A world championship has always been a dream for me, but so has the Triple Crown."