Win Puts Slater in Line for Title

As the enormous swell faded steadily into a sunny Sunday afternoon, so seemed to fade Andy Irons’ chances of defending his surfing world championship.

And so increased Kelly Slater’s chances of claiming his seventh overall title.

Irons, 27, after winning the last three titles, was being hailed by many as the second coming of Slater. The problem is that Slater, 33, is surfing better and with more focus than ever, and that has made him all but invincible.

On a roasting day during which more than 5,000 spectators lined the shore of hard-to-reach Lower Trestles in San Clemente to witness the final rounds of the Boost Mobile Pro, Slater surfed as though he were possessed. Afterward, in triumph, he claimed to be in possession of a quality that had been largely missing the last two years:

Desire.

“I’ve had a good feeling for a little while now,” he said of his 2005 campaign.

The anticipated Irons-Slater matchup never occurred. Irons, ranked No. 2 behind Slater, was defeated in the quarterfinals by Phillip MacDonald. MacDonald, trying to become the fourth consecutive Australian to win the Boost Mobile Pro, advanced to the final and held a considerable lead over Slater in the waning minutes of the 35-minute heat.

But Slater, as he so often does, caught a wave that looked to be closing out but used a powerful burst of speed to make the section, then performed a series of maneuvers that drew raves from the beach and earned a 9.07 out of a possible 10 from the judges. His two-wave score of 15.40 was just enough to edge MacDonald (15.00), who later said, “I’m so sick and tired of finishing second, next time I’m going to have to stab a person or something to get a win.”

Slater’s triumph was his fourth of the 11-event World Championship Tour season. With the finish, the superstar from Cocoa Beach, Fla., further separated himself from Irons in the points standings, and can clinch the world title with a victory in next week’s Quiksilver Pro in France.

If successful, Slater will have won his first title since reeling off five in a row from 1994-98. After that he went on hiatus, saying he had nothing left to prove, but decided to return for the 2002 season.

He finished ranked ninth in 2002, then finished second after losing to Irons in the season finale in 2003, and finished third in 2004, failing to win an event.

After a period of soul searching he became inspired and devoted all of his energy to reclaiming the title, he said, and when Slater is inspired he does things on a surfboard that leave even his tour mates shaking their heads in disbelief.

On Sunday, Slater was performing 360-degree turns with virtual impunity. His smashing vertical top turns and powerful tail-sliding reverses, some of them becoming 360s, were moves once deemed too risky in competition. Asked if he was a better surfer than the one who dominated the tour in the 1990s -- he won his first title in 1992 -- he said he has progressed way beyond what surfers were doing back then.

“I’m stronger, I weigh more, I have more muscle and I know how to compete better,” he said, dismissing age as a mere number and adding that he’s having more fun than ever.

This kind of fun, traveling the world and being on call constantly for the contest green light, may run its course, once and for all, after 2005. Slater has implied that he may only make token appearances on the WCT next season.

After all, if he does win another title he’ll have nothing left to prove. Again.