How many times do you think the Irons brothers played this one out at Pine Trees in Hanalei? The two Kaua‘i natives, with perfect ten-foot (face height) waves all to themselves, battling it out to win a World Championship Tour
How many times do you think the Irons brothers played this one out at Pine Trees in Hanalei?
The two Kaua‘i natives, with perfect ten-foot (face height) waves all to themselves, battling it out to win a World Championship Tour event, with thousands of screaming fans on the beach?
If it sounds like a childhood fantasy, too good to be true, you’d be wrong.
It happened yesterday to Andy and Bruce Irons on the beaches of Hossegor, France at the Quiksilver Pro.
Andy got the better of Bruce, winning his second event of the year and taking a commanding lead towards his third consecutive WCT title.
“I‘m beside myself, probably one of the most memorable wins of whole my life,” Andy, 26, said after the historic final. “To have my brother in it, and be in the south of France with 10-foot waves, it was awesome.
“You‘d catch a good wave and get a Jet Ski right back out,” he said. “It was a dream day, and everything worked in my favor.”
Bruce, who’s had a difficult year, jumped up from 41st (of 44) to 28th in the rankings by overcoming a charging Kelly Slater in the semifinals and scoring the only perfect ten of the tournament.
“It was just like we were at home, which was cool,” said Bruce of the final. “Seems like I got all my good waves in the semis, but to beat Kelly with the kind of scores he usually gets, I was really happy.”
“I did not expect to see waves like this today,” the younger Irons, 23, continued. “I‘ve had such a bad start to the year, so to do well here, I‘m really stoked, especially to surf the final against my brother.”
In their first head-to-head WCT final, Andy and Bruce entered the 35-minute clash as the two main standouts of today‘s amazing show. The reigning two-time world champion and current ratings leader had bettered his scores throughout each round, and, facing his brother, immediately applied similar pressure after a 9-point opening barrel ride.
He then backed this up with another 8.0 for a commanding lead. Having lost a crucial heat to Bruce in California last year, the victory was sweet revenge, as well as his second WCT title for the season. Andy now is 1,044 ratings points ahead of his nearest rival, six-time champ Slater.
Slater was ousted in one of the most amazing heats of the day.
Going back and forth, Slater and the younger Irons put up some of the biggest scores of the entire event.
Slater opened his campaign in a earlier heat with a near-perfect 9.63 ride, but against Bruce in the semifinals, it was his opponent who upped the ante. First, he equaled the Floridian‘s top score, before earning the only 10-point ride and highest combined tally of the Quiksilver Pro. The 32-year-old then required a near-perfect total of 19.64 points. His third consecutive semifinal finish in France, today‘s result consolidates his high rating, but did nothing to gain ground on Andy‘s commanding lead.
“One of the best days ever for surf in France at a contest”” stated Slater. “There were incredible waves to be had, I just couldn‘t quite tune into them. Bruce just had what might be the highest scoring heat of his career, and was totally in sync out there. He went off and there was nothing I could do. It‘s good for him, as he needed a result to get back on tour.”
“I‘m really proud of him,” said Andy of Bruce‘s performance. “He‘s gotten over a hump, which is great.”
As for Andy, his consistent performances all year have given him a huge lead going into next week’s Billabong Pro in Mundaka, Spain.
“At this point we‘ve just got to hope he has a couple of bad results cause he‘s been making semis or better almost every contest,” said Slater. “I came in third last year and then went to Mundaka and won, with a similar points spread to Andy” so anything’s possible.
“I think losing at Trestles (California last month) and getting a 33rd was a blessing for me,” said Andy. “It brought me back to reality and made me surf smart.
“‘Parko’ (Joel Parkinson) has two wins this year also, so I can see him, Kelly and CJ all being major threats still. It‘s probably all going to come down to Pipeline again, but right now I just want to savor this win,” he continued.
Equal third were Slater and Oahu native Sunny Garcia, who went down to good friend Andy in the semifinals.
“Thankfully they postponed the contest (Saturday), as when I woke up this morning and came down I saw perfect waves like Sunset,” Garcia said after the event. “I‘m stoked to make the semis. I lost to the current ratings leader and two-time world champ, and he was going off. I was surfing well, but unfortunately didn‘t get any waves. I‘m happy with this result and should be able to re-qualify for next year.”
As for Bruce’s requalifying hopes, he stuck to the old cliché.
“I‘ll just take it event by event, and heat by heat,” he said. “I‘ve had bad luck this whole season, so to finally get on the ball feels good, and like what I should have been doing.”
Garcia, who received a wildcard entry to the WCT this season following major reconstructive knee surgery in 2003, powered his way into the semifinals. The 34-year-old fought back towards the end with a great 8.83 ride, but still required another 9.2 score to match Irons‘ 18.03 tally.
Finishing equal fifth in the Quiksilver Pro were Brazilians Peterson Rosa, Raoni Monteiro and Victor Ribas, together with Australian Michael Lowe, winner of the Quiksilver Pro on Australia’s Gold Coast earlier this year.
Monteiro secured his best result to date, losing a tight exchange to Andy. The 22-year-old impressed all with his committed surfing, and actually held the lead towards the end before his opponent locked in a final 7.1 score to advance.
Joel Parkinson of Australia, winner of the last event in California, was narrowly beaten Sunday by Ribas in round four. The Australian still holds down fourth position on the current ratings.
