Rip Curl Pro Search 2007, Arica, Chile

Hawai’i surfers Bruce Irons, Pancho Sullivan and Kekoa Bacalso won their first-round heats in the Rip Curl Pro Search contest yesterday.

The opening day of the event was held in 4- to 6-foot waves at Arica, Chile.

Bacalso received a sponsor’s wildcard into the event, and he justified it with an upset of world No. 2-ranked Taj Burrow from Australia.

“There’s no pressure,” said Bacalso, who is from Mililani. “I just go out and surf and have fun and enjoy myself. There’s a lot of good waves out there. Luckily, I got a couple and didn’t get washed into the parking lot.”

Sullivan also earned an upset victory, defeating three-time former world champion Andy Irons of Kaua’i.

“I knew it was going to be a tough heat and we were going to need to post some really high scores,” said Sullivan, who is from Sunset Beach. “It’s a really challenging wave — it shifts around a lot and waves that look really good end up not being that great. You just have to take some chances and move around and hopefully you luck into that high-scoring wave.”

As first-round winners, Bruce Irons, Sullivan and Bacalso advanced to the third round.

Andy Irons and fellow Hawai’i surfer Fred Patacchia Jr. did not win their first-round heats, and will have to compete in the second round, where eliminations begin.

The contest is the fourth of 10 stops on the 2007 World Championship Tour.

(Source:Honolulu Advertiser)