Garcia returns to form at Vans Hawaiian Pro

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

The outlook for the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing is Sunny once again.

Wai'anae's Sunny Garcia returned to the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing with a vengeance, winning the Vans Hawaiian Pro yesterday at Hale'iwa Ali'i Beach. He missed last year's event with a knee injury. Bernie Baker • Special to The Advertiser

The final day of the competition was completed at Hale'iwa Ali'i Beach in clean 4- to 6-foot surf, with some wave-faces up to 15 feet.

For Garcia, it was a redemptive and historic victory.

"Last year I was starting to doubt myself after having two knee surgeries," said Garcia, 34. "My knee is still not as good as it should be, but to come back to Hawai'i and win is a dream."

His nightmare came last year when he could not participate in the Triple Crown of Surfing because of a knee injury.

The Triple Crown championship — which is awarded annually to the best overall performer in three North Shore events — is considered one of the most prestigious titles in the sport, and Garcia has won it a record five times.

"After his knee surgery last year, he said he didn't even want to be here (in Hawai'i) because it would be too hard to just sit and watch," his wife, Raina, said. "So we stayed in California the whole time. It was really hard for him."

Garcia returned to competitive surfing in April, and the rehabilitation process had been slow until yesterday.

"It gets to be a little depressing when you win a lot and then you don't win at all," he said.

But that changed yesterday as Garcia displayed the same powerful style that won him a world championship in 2000 (the same year he won the last of his five Triple Crowns).

Despite admitting to being out of shape, Garcia consistently caught the biggest waves. He dominated the four-man final, receiving scores of 8.57 and 8.17 on his best two rides for a tally of 16.74.

"This format of catching two top waves works in my favor," he said. "Once I get on a wave, it's fine. But paddling back out and having to dip through waves is kind of taxing."

While recovering from his knee surgery, Garcia said he gained 40 pounds.

"He would just sit there on the couch," his wife said. "But once he started training again, he was really good about it. I'm so happy it all paid off."

The paycheck for yesterday's victory was $15,000. With that, Garcia became the second surfer in history to surpass $1 million in career earnings. Six-time former world champion Kelly Slater of Florida is the only other surfer with more prize money.

"For me, it's always been about trying to win," Garcia said. "If there was no money in surfing, I would still be surfing."

Garcia has been on the world tour since 1986, and his experience was also key.

"What's the sense of taking small waves and wasting your time," he said. "I'd rather sit and wait for a wave that can get you an 8 or 9."

What's more, Garcia is a proven winner at Hale'iwa — yesterday was his fifth Hawaiian Pro victory at Ali'i Beach. The last contest he won prior to his knee surgery was the 2002 Hawaiian Pro.

Kaua'i's Bruce Irons, who placed fourth, said: "Sunny's still got it. You can't ever count him out, especially here."

Irons was also racking up high scores in the quarterfinals and semifinals, but a broken board in the final hampered his performance.

"It was a new board so the last thing I expected was for it to break," he said. "I cut my foot, too, so it threw me all off."

Irons is the younger brother of current three-time world champion Andy Irons, who was eliminated in the third round.

Australia's Phillip MacDonald made a late charge in the final to place second with a two-wave score of 14.57.

Brazil's Bernardo Pigmeu was third with a score of 11.03.

The Hawaiian Pro is the first of three contests in the Triple Crown, so Garcia is now in the lead position for the 2004 title.

"Whether I'm back or not is irrelevant," he said. "I've won everything I wanted to win; done everything I wanted to do in the sport. Now I'm just enjoying the younger guys ... watching Andy (Irons) take the Hawaiian flag and carry it."

The second contest in the Triple Crown is the O'Neill World Cup of Surfing at Sunset Beach. The holding period for that contest begins Friday. For daily status of the event call 596-7873.

Vans Hawaiian Pro

Final results

1, Sunny Garcia (Hawai'i), $15,000. 2, Phillip MacDonald (Australia), $8,000. 3, Bernardo Pigmeu (Brazil), $6,000. 4, Bruce Irons (Hawai'i), $4,000. 5 (tie), Paulo Moura (Brazil) and Fabio Gouveia (Brazil), $3,000. 7 (tie), Luke Stedman (Australia) and Joel Parkinson (Australia), $2,600. 9 (tie), Eric Rebiere (France), Norimasa Ohno (Japan), Neco Padaratz (Brazil) and Travis Logie (South Africa), $2,300. 13 (tie), Nathan Carroll (Hawai'i), Toby Martin (Australia), Kirk Flintoff (Australia) and Kalani Robb (Hawai'i), $1,900.

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