IRONS CLINCHES ELUSIVE JEWEL AT O'NEILL WORLD CUP OF SURFING Patacchia and Reyes Qualify for 2005 World Championship Tour
Honolulu, HAWAII (Friday, Dec. 3, 2004) - Three-time world champion Andy Irons (Kauai) today clinched the one jewel of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing that has eluded him for five years, rounding out a sensational season by winning the 30th annual O'Neill World Cup of Surfing at Sunset Beach.
Joining an illustrious list of legendary past winners that was in the making before he was born, 26-year-old Irons is now back on track for a third consecutive Vans Triple Crown of Surfing Series title.
The 35-minute final featured a four-man lineup of past, present and future surfing champions with Irons pitted against 22-year-old North Shore local Fred Patacchia Jr., 23-year-old Joel Parkinson (Australia), and pro surfing's veteran Mark Occhilupo (Australia), 38. But age had nothing to do with the quality of surfing on offer as all four surfers closely matched each others scores through three rounds of competition today en-route to the final.
Scores remained tight for the first half of the final, but Irons hit a strong rhythm at the half-way point to steal away with the lead. His score of 16.17 points out of 20 for his best two rides earned him $15,000. Second place was Occhilupo (13.8 points and $8,000), third was Patacchia (12.87 points for $6,000), and fourth was Joel Parkinson (10.5 points and $4,000).
"I've gotten second here before," said Irons. "I knew I'd have to play it smart against those guys."
After a shocking first round loss in the first event two weeks ago, the Vans Hawaiian Pro at Haleiwa, Irons had written off the likelihood of regrouping his results to be able to challenge Series leader Sunny Garcia (Hawaii). But his win today takes him within 150 points of Garcia, who dropped to second on the Triple Crown ratings after losing in one round prior to the quarter finals this-morning. Australian Phillip MacDonald, runner-up at Haleiwa and semi-finalist today, has taken a 122 point lead on the Series. MacDonald sits on 1764 Triple Crown points, Garcia has 1632, and Irons 1488 points.
