Professional surfer Sonny Garcia, left, walks with friend Sue Haveruk as he enters his sentence hearing in federal court today in San Diego. Dennis Poroy/Associated Press

Garcia, whose given name is Vincent Sennen Garcia, looked gloomy as the sentence was handed down, but once outside the courtroom he quickly regained the cheerful demeanor that earned him his nickname.

"I feel good, considering," Garcia said. "It's a weight off my shoulders."

The six-time winner of surfing's Triple Crown pulled in more than $1 million in prize money during his five years on the professional tour.

U.S. District Court Judge Thomas J. Whelan gave Garcia until mid-January to report to the Bureau of Prisons to allow him to honor a commitment to a sponsor.

Whelan also ordered Garcia, who lives in Newport Beach, to spend seven months in home confinement after his release and perform 80 hours of community service, preferably helping disadvantaged or troubled children.

Garcia apologized to the court, and said outside the courtroom that he had been overwhelmed by the amount of money he made surfing.

"I didn't surf because I thought I was going to make money at it," he said. "But coming from a poor family, you want to buy everything you never had. I spent my money foolishly."

The surfer rose from a hardscrabble childhood in Oahu to the top of the sport, dropping out of high school to compete full-time in 1986. Fellow surf champion Kelly Slater wrote in a letter of support filed with the court that Garcia was like "an older brother" who had welcomed the role of elder statesman in the surf world.

Whelan said Garcia's role as a leader in the surfing community meant he could not let the crime slide without jail time.

"I'll give you every break the law allows but we can't pretend this didn't happen," Whelan said. "Even if you didn't have the money to pay taxes on your winnings it would have been much easier to declare it and owe the money."

Garcia will have six months to pay as-yet-undetermined fees and penalties to the Internal Revenue Service.

His attorney, Steve Toscher, said Garcia retains some sponsors and is involved in creating interactive surfing games.

Garcia, 36, retired in 2005, saying that he wanted to spend more time with his family after 20 years chasing waves around the world. On Wednesday he said he intends to compete in next year's Triple Crown competition and is considering a return to the pro circuit.