Irons, who is from Kaua'i, routed Australia's Nathan Hedge, 16.83 to 8.0, in the final to win for the first time on this season's Association of Surfing Professionals tour and pocket the first-prize check of $30,000.

Irons seized control of the final when he took off on a great set, and followed it with three clean barrels and a couple of big maneuvers.

"Clutch timing," Irons said of his 10-point ride, the only perfect score of the meet. "It was a perfect wave and I knew if I just rode the whole way it would be a high score. I got some good turns off and three barrels."

Irons, who had not progressed past a ninth placing at Jeffreys Bay in previous years, beat local wildcard nemesis Sean Holmes in the third round to gain momentum.

"I've never made the quarters here before, so to actually go and win it is awesome," Irons said. "It's a huge weight off my shoulders to do well here. Just getting past Sean was a real accomplishment ... I'm so happy."

Irons, who also has two runner-up finishes and two ties for third, leads this year's tour with 5,016 points and holds a commanding lead over second-place Kelly Slater, who has 3,552.

"Nice," Irons said of his ratings lead. "But like I've said, the tour is a marathon, not a sprint. There are so many contests ahead of us and I'm just going to try and keep my lead solid through until Hawai'i (where the tour holds its last two events)."