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SURFERMAG.COM PROTOUR UPDATE

Irons Dominates Rnd One...(Con't)

Russell Winter, the UK's sole representative on the WCT, surfed confidently and powerfully to beat Americans Pat O'Connell (CA) and six-time world champion Kelly Slater (FL) in their 30-minute bout. The 'British Bulldog' carved his way to a convincing victory and his opponents will now have to contest round two. "I had the inside position at the start and was able to catch the first good one, which set me up for the rest of the heat," explained Winter. "I've been surfing at Sunset for a few years now and really like it. I'm quite comfortable out here and it suits my surfing. Even though I come from England, I love waves like this. "Whenever you surf against Kelly you have to surf your best," he added of Slater. "Obviously he's one of the biggest threats out there, but I just stuck to my own game plan and it worked out."

Lee Winkler (Aus) gained some needed confidence with his win over fellow countryman Nathan Webster and Cory Lopez (USA). The Australian made a critical barrel ride for the days' second best score of 9.5, and edged out Webster, who also scored highly for his opening tube. With only two WCT's remaining, including the Rip Curl Cup, Winkler is currently on the cusp of re-qualification and needs all the ratings points he can acquire. "I need the points right now on the ratings, so it was a big confidence booster for me to have a win out here at Sunset," said Winkler. "The waves have been huge, and I don't remember a season like this before, so it was good to get a couple of waves finally. I knew that one wave was going to barrel, so I just pulled in and gritted my teeth and closed my eyes. I could feel it trying to push me out, then I felt some wind and opened my eyes and it was all sunny again, as I'd made it."

Maz Quinn, New Zealand's sole representative on the WCT, also gained some momentum with his opening win over Fabio Gouveia (Brz) and reigning world champion CJ Hobgood (USA). The 'Kiwi' is currently rated #37 and requires a couple of strong finishes to secure his elite position in 2003. "I've been surfing as much as I could before the contest started, so I felt pretty comfortable out there," said Quinn."I was lucky to get a bomb at the start, but then snapped one of my favorite boards on my last wave, which is a bummer. I need a couple of results, so I've got nothing to lose out there. I'm just going for it."

1999 world champion Mark Occhilupo then got the upper hand against fellow Australian Dean Morrison and Brazil's Paulo Moura in the day's final heat. Their match was rescheduled last Monday due to Morrison's recent head injury at Backdoor Pipeline, but the 21-year-old still surfed with 12 staples in his head. "It was a long wait for that heat, for sure," laughed Occhilupo afterward. "Deano hurt himself at Pipeline, so he asked me if we could put the heat back, and Paulo and I both agreed. It was big that day and he had just had stitches in the day before, so if he had bumped it or anything, it would have been heavy. There's been so much swell over here, so it'll be interesting to see what happens tomorrow."

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Official round one heats in the Rip Curl Cup (1st > Rnd 3; 2nd & 3rd > Rnd 2)

• H7: Richard Lovett (Aus) 9.35; Marcelo Nunes (Brz) 8.75; Michael Lowe (Aus) 7.25
• H8: Andy Irons (Haw) 16.75; Pancho Sullivan (Haw) 8.5; Peterson Rosa (Brz) 6.9
• H9: Myles Padaca (Haw) 13.65; Luke Egan (Aus) 11.0; Michael Campbell (Aus) 7.75
• H10: Neco Padaratz (Brz) 14.0; Bruce Irons (Haw) 10.0; Taj Burrow (Aus) 8.75
• H11: Flavio Padaratz (Brz) 12.6; Kalani Robb (Haw) 10.5; Greg Emslie (SAfr) 6.0
• H12: Lee Winkler (Aus) 13.0; Nathan Webster (Aus) 13.0; Cory Lopez (USA) 5.6
• H13: Maz Quinn (NZ) 11.05; Fabio Gouveia (Brz) 9.7; CJ Hobgood (USA) 8.55
• H14: Shane Dorian (Haw) 15.75; Luke Hitchings (Aus) 12.75; Damien Hobgood (USA) 6.25
• H15: Russell Winter (UK) 14.5; Pat O'Connell (USA) 12.75; Kelly Slater (USA) 11.15
• H16: Guilherme Herdy (Brz) 11.9; Renan Rocha (Brz) 11.25; Nathan Hedge (Aus) 7.75
• H3: Mark Occhilupo (Aus) 14.0; Dean Morrison (Aus) 10.9; Paulo Moura (Brz) 10.25

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