Paterson captures Rip Curl; Irons closes gap on Slater

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

Kaua'i's Andy Irons rode through several barreling waves on the way to finishing second in the Rip Curl Cup. Bernie Baker • Special to The Advertiser

Jake "The Snake" Paterson beat both Andy Irons and Kelly Slater yesterday en route to winning the Rip Curl Cup men's surfing contest.

The final day of the event was completed in spectacular 8- to 12-foot waves at Sunset Beach.

"We really had to perform today, so I'm over the moon and can't believe it," said Paterson, who is from Western Australia.

Paterson, 30, is not in contention for the 2003 world championship, but he certainly made it more exciting.

In his first heat yesterday, Paterson beat current No. 1-ranked Slater.

Irons, the defending world champ and current No. 2, made it to the final heat, eventually placing second to Paterson.

The Rip Curl Cup was the 11th of 12 contests on the 2003 World Championship Tour. Entering the final event — next week's Xbox Gerry Lopez Pipeline Masters at Ehukai Beach — Slater has 8,340 points to Irons' 8,244.

Irons and Slater are the only surfers still in contention for the world title. In essence, whoever places higher at Pipeline will win the world championship.

PATERSON

He relied on a fearless style, carving up, down and across the big waves to rack up big points.

In the four-man final, Paterson took control early with a 9.07 (out of 10) for completing four top-to-bottom carves along a 10-foot wave.

He said his older brother, Paul Paterson, gave him some key advice before the final.

"He told me the tide was getting a bit low and the waves actually bigger, so I should paddle around everyone and wait out the back," Jake said. "It really worked for me, and I got some nice open (wave) faces, so he probably made me win it."

Paul Paterson won the Rip Curl Cup at Sunset Beach in 1996. They are now the second set of brothers to win prestigious event, following Michael and Derek Ho.

Irons was the only surfer to come close to Paterson in the 30-minute final. Irons received a perfect 10 for a daring barrel ride through a fast-closing wave, but it still left him a half-point short.

Paterson's top two waves scored a total of 17.64 points; Irons' two-wave total was 17.17.

"It's pretty rare to get a 10 and lose," said Irons, who is from Hanalei, Kaua'i. "But Snake over there had two really good waves and I needed one more."

Paterson also took the lead in the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing standings. The Rip Curl Cup was the second of three events in the Triple Crown series. The Pipeline Masters will also serve as the final contest for the Triple Crown.

Paterson also made the final in the first Triple Crown contest, placing third in the Vans Hawaiian Pro two weeks ago.

"Any final in Hawai'i is a dream," he said. "But two in a row is incredible."

Paterson earned $30,000 for his first victory of the year.

Irons received $16,000, and gained more than 550 points on Slater, who entered the Rip Curl Cup with a lead of 648 points.

"I really just didn't get any waves to perform on," Slater said of his third-round elimination. "My waves kept closing out or mushing up."

Among the other finalists, Shane Dorian of Kailua, Kona, placed third, and Taj Burrow of Australia was fourth.

Dorian dominated his earlier heats in the day, but admittedly got tired in the final.

"I couldn't think of a harder final," he said. "I think me and Andy were pretty thrashed after the whole day, and Snake was just starting to get going."

Dorian, 31, is in his farewell season on the World Championship Tour. He will leave the tour after this year to chase big waves around the world.

Kalani Robb of O'ahu's North Shore was eliminated in the quarterfinals, but helped eliminate Slater in the third round (only two surfers from each four-man heat can advance until the final, and Robb and Paterson advanced ahead of Slater).

Before the final, Hawai'i surfers Makua Rothman and Nathan Carroll took top honors in the Foster's Expression Session. Rothman got $2,000 for the best barrel ride; Carroll got $1,000 for best maneuver.

The Pipeline Masters will begin its holding period on Monday.

Final results

1, Jake Paterson (Australia), $30,000. 2, Andy Irons (Hawai'i), $16,000. 3, Shane Dorian (Hawai'i), $11,000. 4, Taj Burrow (Australia), $9,000. 5 (tie), Chris Davidson (Australia) and Cory Lopez (Florida), $8,500. 7 (tie), Luke Stedman (Australia) and Dean Morrison (Australia), $7,500. 9 (tie), Damien Hobgood (Florida), Michael Lowe (Australia), Richard Lovett (Australia) and Mark Occhilupo (Australia), $5,500. 13 (tie), Guilherme Herdy (Brazil), Kalani Robb (Hawai'i), Michael Campbell (Australia) and Darren O'Rafferty), $4,500.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8101.