Andy Irons has already won three world championships, four Vans Triple Crown of Surfing championships, and numerous other titles and accolades in his illustrious surfing career.

But he scored perhaps the biggest prize of his life on Nov. 25, when he and longtime girlfriend Lindy got married.

"I'm happy, I can tell you that," Irons said. "It's a good feeling to know someone is there with you for the rest of your life through thick and thin, good and bad."

Yesterday was one of the good times.

In his first contest as a newlywed, Irons was the standout on the opening day of the Billabong Pipeline Masters.

The first round was run in challenging conditions — wave-face heights ranged from around 5 to 12 feet, but strong winds shut down most of the famous barrels at the Banzai Pipeline.

Irons surfed in the first heat of the day — when the winds were lighter — and set a standard no surfer could match.

On his first wave, he rode through a long barrel at Backdoor Pipeline and was rewarded with a near-perfect score of 9.17 (out of 10).

"My first wave came wide. I waited about eight minutes," said Irons, who is 29 and from Hanalei, Kaua'i. "It just really got hollow and spit me out. It felt great."

Later in the heat, he got a score of 8.33 for another barrel, giving him a two-wave total of 17.5. No other surfer had a two-wave score higher than 16 for the rest of the day.

"I think local knowledge is really key," Irons said. "Other guys are paddling to the sandbar, and I knew to sit on the reef. I knew where the holes were and all that kind of stuff."

Irons withdrew from the O'Neill World Cup of Surfing at Sunset Beach two weeks ago because of a back injury, but showed he has recovered yesterday.

He said he hurt his back while surfing off Kaua'i a few days after his wedding.

Because he missed the Sunset Beach contest, Irons is not in contention for the 2007 Vans Triple Crown of Surfing. However, he is intent on continuing his streak at the Pipeline Masters, where he is the two-time defending champion, and has won it four of the last five years.

What's more, Billabong is in its first year as the title sponsor of the contest. Billabong happens to be Irons' main sponsor.

"Best company in the world, best wave in the world," he said.

Irons and his bride were married in Princeville, Kaua'i, and several of the world's top surfers attended. His younger brother, Bruce, was the best man.

"He actually pulled off a good speech — best one of his life," Andy said of Bruce. "So I don't know, miracles are happening."

Bruce said: "I didn't step up. I was just being a brother. It was a beautiful wedding."

Andy said he has yet to take his wife on a honeymoon, so a strong showing in the Pipeline Masters could earn him some extra spending money.

"It's been three weeks and she hasn't divorced me yet," he said with a laugh. "I'll take her on a nice honeymoon once this is all over."

Bruce Irons also won his first-round heat yesterday. As first-round winners, the Irons brothers advanced directly to the fourth round.

No surfers were eliminated yesterday, but not all the Hawai'i surfers left the beach happy.

Fred Patacchia Jr. placed second in his heat, but described the conditions as "a slap in the face."

"When they said the contest was on, I figured it would at least be decent," he said. "I don't think it was fair to send us out in this. This is not what surfing Pipe is supposed to be about."

The weather forecast is predicting poor conditions for the next week, but Patacchia said it would still be worth the wait.

"The crucial heats are all in the beginning," he said. "If you make it to the last day, you're already in the money. If we have all these days, why not roll the dice and wait it out? If we have to surf in junk waves at the end (of the waiting period), then at least we tried to wait it out. This is like giving up and saying it's going to be junk every day so just go."

Patacchia is especially on edge because he is on the edge of requalifying for the 2008 World Championship Tour. He needs a strong showing in the Pipeline Masters to avoid being cut from the tour.

Another Hawai'i surfer, Wai'anae's Sunny Garcia, brought some excitement to the crowd and fear to Brazilian surfer Neco Padaratz in an afternoon heat.

Garcia and Padaratz paddled for the same wave, and appeared to collide. Garcia arose from the wipeout visibly agitated.

Padaratz won the heat. But when it was over, Garcia sprinted through the crowd along the beach to confront Padaratz, who was running toward the officials' area. Security eventually intervened and cooler heads prevailed.

The Pipeline Masters still needs three more days of competition to crown a champion.

In the second round, Hawai'i's "Pipe Specialists" will take on the world tour surfers. Eliminations begin in the second round.

For daily status of the contest, call 596-7873 or visit www.triplecrownofsurfing.com.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.