Too Little, Too Late for Collins : Op Pro: Newport Beach surfer again needs big moves and big surf on his final wave, but gets neither and loses title to Australia’s Lynch.

Newport Beach’s Richie Collins paddled through the rip current near the Huntington Beach Pier Sunday knowing he needed only a 15.6 out of 30 possible points on his final wave to win the Op Pro surfing championship.

“I thought I had it in the bag,” Collins said.

But Collins, who had won his quarterfinal and semifinal heats with big moves in big surf, couldn’t find either on the last wave of the finals against top-seeded Barton Lynch of Manly, Australia.

Lynch won his second Op Pro title Sunday, holding off sixth-seeded Collins in the final minute for a 76.5 to 74 victory in front of an estimated crowd of 50,000 at the pier.

Lynch, the 1987 Op champion and 1988 world champion, earned $14,000 for the victory, his second on the Assn. of Surfing Professionals world tour this year. He also won at Bell’s Beach, Australia, in April.

Collins took home $5,000.

Frieda Zamba of Flagler Beach, Fla., won her unprecedented fifth Op Pro women’s title, beating Wendy Botha of Newport Beach, Australia, 74 to 45.5. Zamba collected $4,500 for the victory, her third consecutive Op championship and second victory in a row over Botha in the finals.

Rob Machado of Cardiff defeated Jeff Deffenbaugh of Huntington Beach, 90.5 to 60, in the junior amateur division finals. Machado, the runner-up to Kelly Slater at the 1989 Op junior, received a $1,000 scholarship for the victory.

Lynch, who lost in his first heat at the last two Op Pros, was leading Collins by only half a point when he took his final wave with one minute remaining. He scored a 19.0 on a floater--one of Collins’ trademark moves, to increase his lead to 76.5 to 74.

Collins took off with 45 seconds left, but managed only one move that earned an 8.0 from the judges.

Lynch, who turns 28 on Aug. 9, was the only surfer seeded in the top five to advance past the third round. He has defeated Collins six times in eight meetings.

“If I was (Collins) I would have played with me some more,” Lynch said. “I would have paddled for every wave and tried to unnerve me. He could have forced me to make more mistakes, but he did it on only a select few waves.”

Lynch, an eight-year pro, took a triathlon approach to the contest--run, paddle and surf. He surfed smaller waves early in the heat, riding them to the shore, where he ran down the beach to where he could paddle out in smoother surf.

“Those last five minutes were nerve-wracking,” Lynch said. “I knew I had priority (on the next wave) but by that stage, I was exhausted. I didn’t want to have to run that bloody beach again. Five or six times is enough.”

Lynch had consistent scores--a 20, 19.5, 19 and 18--out of his seven waves. The top four scores out of 15 apply to the final total.

Collins, meanwhile, waited for larger waves. He scored a 24.5 and a 23--the two best scores of the heat--but managed only a 13.5 and a 13 on his other two scoring waves.

“I had a couple real good waves, but I couldn’t get anything after that,” he said. “I’m kind of bummed about my performance. I didn’t do anything to get the crowd going.”

Collins had become a crowd favorite with his explosive maneuvers the past three days. He beat current tour points leader Brad Gerlach of Encinitas in the semifinals by throwing several floaters on large, eight-foot waves.

In Saturday’s quarterfinals, Collins scored a 27 on his last wave in the final 45 seconds to edge Slater of Cocoa Beach, Fla., 76.5 to 75.

But in the finals, Collins was waiting for the wave that never came.

“It’s never over until the very last second,” he said. “Every second on your watch counts. I was waiting and waiting until the last second.”

But Collins was pleased that the second-place finish boosted him to fourth on the ASP tour point standings behind Gerlach (5,942), Lynch (5,620), and Damien Hardman of Narrabeen, Australia, (5,166).

“That’s the highest I’ve been rated,” Collins said. “I’m in the top five now, and that’s a big boost.”

Zamba took control early in the women’s final, scoring a 16 on her second wave and a 22.5 on her fourth to defeat Botha, who was coming off reconstructive knee surgery in the off-season. Botha injured her knee surfing last summer and competed with a heavy knee brace until this year.

“It definitely takes a lot to beat her,” Zamba said of Botha, a two-time world champion. “It’s good to beat her, because she has beaten me a few times.”

Zamba, 26, who’s in semi-retirement, earned a wild-card berth into the main event based on her past performance at the Op. Unseeded surfers normally have to advance through the trial rounds.

“I hadn’t heard of the wild card until after the heats Monday night,” Zamba said, “I came out late and I figured I had missed my heat.”

Machado had some anxious moments until midway though his 45-minute junior final against Deffenbaugh.

Machado, 17, trailed, 40.5 to 39, but scored a 26, a 21 and a 24 on his final three waves to win easily.

“I knew I wasn’t behind by much,” Machado said. “But Jeff could have really pulled ahead with some good waves.”

Machado, who graduated from San Dieguito High in June, plans to use his scholarship money to attend MiraCosta College in San Diego this fall.

“I don’t want to be some stupid surfer after I’m done competing,” Machado said. “I want to do something with my life.”

Add Lynch: The Australian listed Machado as one of the young surfers with a bright future.

“I’d rather surf against Richie than him,” Lynch said. “That guy (Machado) surfs insane.”

Add Zamba: The five-time Op champion said she needed a little inspiration while training for the contest. She improved her arm strength by doing curls with her past Op trophies.

It’s no easy feat. The circular-shaped awards weigh about 15 pounds.

“They work really well,” she said.

Add Collins: The 22-year-old surfer said he expects to lose at least $100,000 this year after being fired last week by his sponsors, Billabong surfwear and O’Neill wetsuits.

Collins, who has won $12,695 in prize money this year, said he was fired because of his controversial comments about apartheid and women surfers.

But Collins said he’s not entertaining any offers from prospective sponsors. He said he can live off his prize money.

“It’s not the money,” Collins said. “You don’t need four billion dollars to live on. You can make a good living on $30,000 a year.”

Ouch: When asked about the quality of several surfing media, Lynch didn’t offer a very high opinion.

“They’re completely out of touch with reality,” he said. “They’re too fashion conscious, and they’re not representing the sport in an honest way.”

Notes

ESPN will televise the Op finals Aug. 5 at 7 p.m. and Aug. 7 at 7 a.m.

Results

Men

Finals

Barton Lynch (Manly, Australia) d. Richie Collins (Newport Beach), 76.5-74. Lynch won $14,000; Collins won $5,000.

Semifinals

Heat 1--Lynch d. Todd Holland (Cocoa Beach, Fla.), 80.5-65.5. Heat 2--Collins d. Brad Gerlach (Encinitas), 83-67. Holland and Gerlach each won $3,000.

Women

Finals

Frieda Zamba (Flagler Beach, Fla.) d. Wendy Botha (Newport Beach, Australia), 74-45.5. Zamba won $4,500; Botha won $2,000.

Semifinals

Heat 1--Zamba d. Nerida Falconer (Scotts Head, Australia), 67-23; Botha d. Jodie Cooper (Albany, W. Australia), 51.5-32.5. Falconer and Cooper each won $1,250.

Junior amateurs

Finals

Rob Machado (Cardiff) d. Jeff Deffenbaugh (Huntington Beach), 90.5-60. Machado won a $1,000 scholarship.

Semifinals

Heat 1--Machado d. Shawn Sutton (Waipahu, Hawaii), 79.5-51.5; Heat 2--Deffenbaugh d. Cade Oyadomari (Kancoche, Hawaii).