Sweden’s Sundqvist Is King of the Hill : Skiing: He defeats countryman Wallner to win U.S. Pro Tour event at Snow Summit and maintains his lead in overall standings.

Jorgen Sundqvist picked up a winner’s check for $5,000 at Snow Summit Sunday and doesn’t care if the IRS knows about it. He’s quite happy to pay taxes in the United States, rather than in his native Sweden.

“The rate is much higher at home,” he said, “so it is better to pay here.”

So far, in his 1 1/2 seasons on the U.S. Pro Tour, Sundqvist, 27, and the IRS have shared many moments of happiness. The Swede won the overall championship as a rookie, earning $101,874 in prize money, plus at least that much again from various contracts. Now, after 13 races this season, he leads the standings with 281 points and has deposited another $25,400 (less taxes) in his U.S. bank account.

Sundqvist, who defeated fellow countryman Joakim Wallner in the final of Sunday’s slalom, shared honors for the weekend with Christian Orlansky, who beat Sebastian Vitzthum in an all-Austrian giant slalom final Saturday.

For Phil Mahre of Yakima, Wash., it was something of a lost weekend.

The three-time World Cup champion and 1984 Olympic slalom gold medalist, lost to Orlansky in the first round Saturday, then was eliminated by Vitzthum in the second round Sunday. He picked up only 20 points and fell from fifth to ninth place in the standings, 100 points behind Sundqvist.

Mahre first knew he was in trouble, he said, when Orlansky “shot out of the starting gate like a rocket” in the first of their two head-to-head runs. “When he did it again in the second run,” Mahre said, “I figured he had a pretty good chance to go all the way and win the race.”

Orlansky, 27, did just that, scoring his first pro victory and moving into second place behind Italian Marco Tonazzi in the competition for rookie-of-the-year honors. Asked how he suddenly became a winner, Orlansky said: “It’s probably because I have my girlfriend here. That’s why I’m skiing so fast.”

Ingrid Paoli, standing nearby, confirmed that she had been in the United States for the last three pro events but would be returning home to Feldkirch, Austria, after next weekend’s races at Winter Park, Colo. “Then, he must do it on his own,” she said.

After 10 years on the Austrian team, Orlansky did not race at all last winter. “They dropped me,” he said. “So, I tried to ski for Belgium, but it didn’t work out. It has taken me a little longer to get in shape again this season.

“At first, I didn’t like the pro style of racing (on dual courses with two built-in jumps). But now I am getting used to it, and everything is OK.”

In Sunday’s slalom, Orlansky reached the quarterfinals, where he lost to the ultimate race winner, Sundqvist.

Mahre, meanwhile, was already back in the lodge, his racing day over. He won his first run against Vitzthum by 0.043 of a second, but got off to a bad start in their second encounter and never caught up, allowing the Austrian to finish 0.220 ahead for a net victory margin of 0.177.

“My right pole just slipped in the snow as I left the starting gate,” Mahre said, “and I was slow in gaining momentum.”

About halfway down the hill, Vitzthum sprayed up a rooster tail of snow right in Mahre’s face, seemingly causing him to falter for a moment.

“I couldn’t see the next gate,” Mahre said, “and I had to guess where the one after that was, but I didn’t have any excuses. He just outskied me.”

Mahre skied without either his twin brother, Steve, or their younger sibling, Paul, both of whom are out with knee injuries. Steve won’t race again this season, but Paul could be back at least for the Million Dollar Plymouth Super Series in March.

Tour director Ed Rogers estimated that with the added money available in those three events, plus some potential bonuses in the World Pro Championships at Nagano, Japan, on Feb. 8-11, this year’s pro champion could earn as much as $300,000.

“And sponsorship money would probably double, or even triple, that amount,” Rogers said.

Sundqvist, the current tour leader, smiled and nodded in agreement when that figure was mentioned, but he isn’t counting on anything, yet.

“(Bernhard) Knauss is very tough,” he said, “and (Tomaz) Cerkovnik has been skiing very well.”

Knauss, of Austria, is third in the standings with 220 points but has won the most money, $27,025. Cerkovnik, of Yugoslavia, is second with 241 points and has earned $21,800.

One racer who was not smiling on a bright, sunny day in the San Bernardino Mountains was Roland Pfeifer of Austria, who was disqualified in the slalom semifinals for two “barges,” or false starts. However, through a misinterpretation of the rules, an official allowed him to make his first run against Wallner, in which he posted a 0.389 margin. Then they told him it didn’t count. He was out, and wouldn’t even be able to ski in the consolation final.

On the awards podium, Pfeifer was still complaining, and when the announcer said it was too bad and everyone was sorry, the fourth-place finisher in the slalom said: “I’m sorry. That’s not enough.”