ISLE FILE
Irons avoids ticket, advances in Rip Curl

Advertiser Staff

Two-time defending world champion Andy Irons of Kaua'i capped a "crazy" day by advancing to the quarterfinals of the Rip Curl Pro yesterday.

The fourth round was completed in 4- to 5-foot waves at Bells Beach, Victoria, Australia.

Irons avoided a speeding ticket on the way to the contest, then won another close call in his fourth-round victory over Australia's Luke Egan.

Irons trailed throughout the 30-minute heat, but recorded a near-perfect score of 9.4 (out of 10) on his final wave. Egan countered with a 9.13 at the final horn. By the end of the heat, both surfers had a total score of 18.30.

Irons was awarded the victory because his single best wave was a 9.4 to Egan's 9.17.

"I was coming from behind, just freaking out the whole time," Irons said. "Especially when the set came at the end, but it just lined up perfectly for me."

Earlier in the day, Irons and several other surfers made a two-hour drive to Johanna, thinking the contest would be held there. When they arrived in Johanna, they were told to drive back to Bells Beach for the start of the contest.

"We were flying," Irons said. "The cop was actually going the other way, but he whipped a big U-turn and pulled us over. He knew who I was, so I told him the situation and he totally understood."

Irons, who is the only Hawai'i surfer remaining in the contest, is scheduled to face Australia's Toby Martin in the quarterfinals.