Bruce Irons of Kaua'i defeated Fred Patacchia Jr. of O'ahu's North Shore in the final of the Rip Curl Pro Search men's contest today.

The final day of the event was run in 4-foot waves at a secret spot "somewhere" off Indonesia.

Irons rallied in the last 10 minutes of the final, grabbing barrel rides that received scores of 9.33 and 8.33 to claim his first World Championship Tour victory.

"One of my goals when I joined the tour was to win an event and I wasn't sure if it was going to happen since I'll be stepping away after this season," Irons said. "But the waves pumped this event. This is what the Dream Tour should be like all the time. I'm definitely stepping away from the ASP Tour at the end of this year, but I'm not retiring. I'm still planning on competing at Pipeline and Teahupoo and at venues that I can get into."

Irons received $30,000, and moved up to No. 10 on the 2008 World Championship Tour.

"I was tripping out in the water when they kept announcing Fred (Patacchia) and I in the final you never hear that," Irons said. "It was all business though. This is only the second time I've ever made one on tour and I wasn't about to let it go. I was trying my hardest out there."

Patacchia was in stunning form all event, netting high scores and eliminating top seeds before coming up short in the final.

"Bruce (Irons) and I are good friends but we were super competitive in that final," Patacchia said. "Both of us wanted to win and we were hassling and trash-talking and everything. I had one wave at the start, but Bruce got two bombs towards the end and I could tell he was really gunning for it."

Patacchia received $18,000 and moved up to No. 14 on the tour.

Andy Irons, Bruce's older brother, was eliminated in the fourth round, but is still Hawai'i's top-ranked surfer at No. 7.

Florida's Kelly Slater remains No. 1 on the tour, despite being eliminated in the third round of the Indonesia contest.