Hawai'i surfers Pancho Sullivan, Clay Marzo, Kiron Jabour, Casey Brown and Torrey Meister were among the standouts on the opening day of the Monster Energy Pipeline Pro.

The first day of the three-day contest was run in wave-face heights that ranged from 6 to 8 feet at the Banzai Pipeline. The first two rounds and four heats of the third round were completed yesterday.

Sullivan is the No. 7-ranked surfer in the world, but he had to surf in the first round yesterday due to a late registration. He normally would receive a bye into the fourth round because of his high ranking.

Not that it mattered yesterday. Sullivan advanced through three rounds, and will surf in the fourth round when the contest resumes.

California's Rob Machado also advanced to the fourth round. He had one of the best heats of the day with a two-wave score of 15.5 in his third round victory. Machado won the Pipeline Pro in 2006.

Mexico's David Rutherford had the best single wave of the day — a 9.6 (out of 10) for a long barrel ride.

"There's a lot of power and it's not even big," he said.

The top-seeded surfers received byes yesterday, including Andy Irons, Bruce Irons, and defending Pipeline Pro champion Jamie O'Brien.

For daily status of the contest, call 596-7873 or visit www.billabongpro.com.