Love it or hate it, Hale'iwa Ali'i Beach gave Kaua'i's Andy Irons a good start in his defense of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing title.

Irons, the 28-year-old former world champion, won the OP Pro Hawai'i in waves in the 3- to 4-foot range yesterday.

Irons' technical proficiency and self-assured style easily pushed him from one heat to the next, despite increasing onshore winds and a diminishing swell.

"It's a hard spot. Things go hot and cold," Irons, 28, said. "I've lost in my first heat here before. It's definitely a love-hate spot for me. Today I'm loving it."

Irons scored 13.00 on his two best rides to beat Australia's Taj Burrow (12.63), Hawai'i's Joel Centeio (9.90) and France's Mikael Picon (8.50) in the four-man final to capture the $15,000 first prize.

For the up-and-coming Centeio, it was a chance to prove he belonged with some of the best professionals.

But he admitted the final four rounds conducted yesterday were grueling.

"My legs were kind of buckling, but you have to battle through it like any professional athlete," said Centeio, who eliminated good friend Fred Patacchia Jr. in a semifinal.

Centeio, 23, and Patacchia grew up surfing at Ali'i Beach and learning from some of the best.

"From Kerry Terukina to Sunny Garcia, we just looked up to all those guys," Centeio said. "Me, Fred, (Sean) Moody, (Jason) Shibata, we all grew up surfing here. ... To make the final here in Hale'iwa, I'm totally stoked. I beat some of the top guys in the world today."

Centeio said his long-term goal is to qualify for the World Championship Tour so he can help represent Hawai'i and travel with Patacchia.

"Next goal? Go to Sunset (Beach) and get to the final there," he said of the second event of the Triple Crown. The holding period for the O'Neill World Cup of Surfing begins Friday.

The 35-minute final yesterday offered up more left-handers than right-handers — Hale'iwa is predominantly a right — forcing the surfers to reassess their position in the lineup.

Irons took an early lead with a high-scoring 7.5 left, masterfully controlling his speed to make it through crumbling sections and finding powerful vertical re-entries on his backside. He followed that wave with a 5.5, which would be enough to secure the victory.

Burrow, 27, less than four-tenths of a point behind, was relegated to second, making smooth turns and throwing up voluminous spray on waves that he rode almost all the way to the beach.

Irons, who beat younger brother Bruce in a quarterfinal heat yesterday, will use his world tour experience in his attempt to repeat as Triple Crown champ.

"On tour, you surf 2-feet waves and 20-feet waves," Irons said. "You've got to be able to do it all."

The lack of big, powerful surf was an anomaly for the Hale'iwa contest.

"In the 24-year history of the Triple Crown, this is without a doubt the hardest event we've ever had to run due to insufficient surf and poor conditions," said Triple Crown of Surfing director Randy Rarick.

The conditions leveled the playing field for many non-Hawai'i surfers who excel in smaller waves. Getting through the first semifinal heat along with Irons was Picon, a 10-year tour veteran who called the waves "not really Hawaiian" but still "rippable."

Backyard knowledge also didn't hurt. The second semifinal saw some of the day's most impressive surfing, put on by Patacchia, Centeio, and Australian powerhouses Burrow and Mick Fanning.

Centeio came out on top by taking as many waves as he could and pulling off progressive maneuvers like tailslides and laybacks, meeting the judging criteria of "the most radical controlled maneuvers in the critical sections of the wave."

NOTES

Defending OP Pro champion Pancho Sullivan and five-time Hale'iwa winner Sunny Garcia were eliminated in the fifth round of competition.