Australians master waves at Makaha
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
Australians Gary Elkerton and Wayne "Rabbit" Bartholomew were masterful in sharing top honors for the Quiksilver Masters World Championships yesterday.
Elkerton won the masters division for surfers age 35 to 44; Bartholomew won the grand masters division for ages 45 and older.
The finals were held in picture-perfect waves of 4 to 6 feet at Makaha Beach. The contest features former surfing greats from around the world. It switches sites each year, and this was the first time it was held in Hawai'i.
"This is special because of the rich history of surfing at Makaha," Bartholomew said. "And then we were blessed with the best conditions. It was absolutely magic."
There was nothing magical about either Elkerton or Bartholomew. Simply put, they dominated their respective divisions.
Masters
During his surfing prime in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Elkerton was the best surfer never to have won a world championship.
Now, he's making up for it against those same surfers who used to edge him out back then.
Yesterday, Elkerton won his third consecutive masters division championship (he won in 2000 and 2001, and the contest was not held in 2002).
"The vindication is that, I think when I was 18 to 25, if I was on the same training program I am now, I would have won world titles quite easily," he said.
Elkerton, 39, defeated California's Brad Gerlach in convincing fashion in yesterday's one-on-one final. Elkerton's top two waves in the final received scores of 8.75 and 8.5 for a total of 17.25 (out of 20). Gerlach, 36, finished with a two-wave score of 13.25.
"The best heat I surfed out of the whole event was the final," Elkerton said. "This final was the easiest one yet of the last three (masters championships)."
Gerlach, who is now recognized as one of the world's best big-wave surfers, surprised the field simply by accepting his invitation to compete (only 16 surfers were invited in each division). He "retired" from the pro tour during the height of his success during the early 1990s.
"I still remembered some stuff," he joked.
After falling behind Elkerton early in the final, Gerlach said he waited futilely for a wave that would have allowed him to complete some of the radical maneuvers that made him popular 10 years ago.
"I was sitting there, waiting for one that was going to line up and it just didn't do it," he said.
Still, Elkerton was impressed with all the surfing in his division.
"The surfing level, on any given day, would have beat most guys in the top 44 (world rankings)," Elkerton said.
Elkerton won $7,200, and Gerlach received $6,000. Derek Ho was the top Hawai'i performer in the masters division. He was eliminated in the quarterfinals and received $3,600.
Grand masters
Bartholomew's victory yesterday was not fixed.
Sure, he is the president of the Association of Surfing Professionals — the governing body of yesterday's event and the world tour — but he is also a former world champion (1978).
"I came here as a competitor," he said. "This is the one contest where I leave it up to other people in ASP to look after. I'm hoping my surfing speaks for itself."
It spoke volumes. Bartholomew, 48, was the only surfer in either division to win all seven of his heats during the three days of the event.
In the one-on-one final, he defeated four-time former world champ Mark Richards of Australia. Bartholomew led from start to finish, and his two-wave total of 17.5 was the best score of the day.
"Once you get the flow going, you don't question why or how, you just keep going," said Bartholomew, who also won the grand masters division in 1999.
Hawai'i surfers Buzzy Kerbox and Bobby Owens were eliminated in the semifinals. They each won $4,200.
Masters
1, Gary Elkerton (Australia), $7,200. 2, Brad Gerlach (California), $6,000. 3 (tie), Rob Bain (Australia) and Martin Potter (Great Britain), $4,200. 5 (tie), Barton Lynch (Australia), Mike Parsons (California), Derek Ho (Hawai'i) and Tom Curren (California), $3,600.
Grand masters
1, Wayne Bartholomew (Australia), $7,200. 2, Mark Richards (Australia), $6,000. 3 (tie), Bobby Owens (Hawai'i) and Buzzy Kerbox (Hawai'i), $4,200. 5 (tie), Paul Neilsen (Australia), Terry Richardson (Australia), Shaun Tomson (South Africa) and Michael Ho (Hawai'i), $3,600.
