Waves were not monstrous at the Banzai Pipeline on Saturday, but it was good enough to run the opening round of the Monster Energy Pro men's surfing contest.

Waves were 4 to 6 feet and clean for the morning heats, but onshore winds created messy conditions by mid-day, prompting contest officials to halt the action after one round of competition.

"I had the last heat of the day, so it was straight onshore (winds) and pretty small," Kaua'i's Shane Valiere said. "Not exactly the best Pipe. I was happy just to make it through."

Before the conditions deteriorated, surfers from the morning heats were able to find some of the famous Pipeline barrels.

Kaua'i teenager Alex Smith made his debut at the Banzai Pipeline a memorable one, scoring a perfect 10 for a long barrel ride through Backdoor Pipeline to win his first-round heat.

"I've surfed Pipe before, a couple of times, but this is my first contest here," said Smith, 16. "That was my first good wave ever at Pipe. I was running off so much adrenaline after that, I couldn't stop smiling."

Smith trailed throughout his heat, and scored the perfect ride with 10 seconds remaining.

"I'm not a Pipe surfer like some of these other guys," he said. "I was just happy to be in it. I just wanted to enjoy the experience."

Several "Pipeline specialists" advanced through the first round on Saturday. Among them were Tamayo Perry, Reef McIntosh, Danny Fuller, Kawika Stillwell and Kainoa McGee.

Peru's Alvaro Malpartida had the best heat of the day, receiving a two-wave total of 15.75. Hawai'i's David Gonsalves also had an impressive heat with a two-wave total of 15.5.

The contest is part of surfing's World Qualifying Series, and the top performers will earn points toward qualifying for the 2008 World Championship Tour.

The top-seeded surfers in the contest received byes on Saturday, including Hawai'i standouts Fred Patacchia Jr., Pancho Sullivan and Jamie O'Brien.

World champion Kelly Slater of Florida and Triple Crown of Surfing champion Andy Irons of Kaua'i are not entered.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.