Hawai'i surfers went full-bore on a half-day of competition in the Billabong Pipeline Masters contest yesterday.

The second round of the prestigious contest was completed in the morning, when wave-face heights ranged from 8 to 12 feet at the Banzai Pipeline. The waves started to diminish at mid-day, so contest officials opted not to start the third round.

Only nine heats were completed yesterday, and Hawai'i surfers won six.

John John Florence, 16 and the youngest surfer in the contest, continued to stun the older and higher-ranked surfers. He had the best heat of the day, receiving near-perfect scores of 9.47 and 9.43 for two separate barrel rides.

Florence grew up in a house just down the street from Pipeline, and he put his experience on display in a convincing victory over Brazil's Heitor Alves.

In the 40-minute heat, Florence had five separate waves that scored 7.0 (out of 10) or higher. Alves never got a score higher than 1.87 on any of his waves.

"It's good to know the lineup out here when it's smaller because a lot of times they run along the reef faster and those right barrels get really small and can be tough to make it out of," Florence said.

Alves was ranked No. 27 in the world entering the contest. Florence is in the contest as a sponsor's wildcard selection.

Another sponsor's wildcard making the most of the opportunity yesterday was Kaua'i's Andy Irons. He finished with a two-wave score of 18.4 to eliminate Australia's Drew Courtney.

Irons, a three-time former world champion and four-time former Pipeline Masters champion, is competing as a wildcard because he took a sabbatical from the world tour in 2009. He said he is using the Pipeline Masters as a springboard for his return to the tour in 2010.

"I'm having a lot of fun in the event," Irons said. "The waves have been really good the past two days and they look like they're going to get really good (today). I'm really enjoying putting the jersey on again and am excited to get a result here before I start back full time in 2010."

Yet another Hawai'i surfer taking advantage of an opportunity is Torrey Meister of the Big Island.

He was allowed into the contest only after Wai'anae's Sunny Garcia showed up late for his first-round heat.

As a replacement, Meister has already advanced to the third round, and now finds himself in contention for the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing championship.

The Pipeline Masters is the final event in the Triple Crown series.

"The Triple Crown is always in the back of my mind," said Meister, 21. "But I've got a long way to go so I'm not going to dwell on it."

Other Hawai'i surfers winning heats yesterday were Flynn Novak, Gavin Gillette and Hank Gaskell.

Garcia is in contention for the Triple Crown championship, but his chances of getting back into the Pipeline Masters appear slim.

After Garcia was replaced, he was dropped to the alternate list. The only way he can get into the contest now is if another surfer gets hurt or shows up late in the third round. After the third round, surfers cannot be replaced. Garcia already owns a record six Triple Crown titles.

The Pipeline Masters is also the final event of the 2009 ASP World Tour, so the world championship will be decided.

World-title contenders Mick Fanning and Joel Parkinson — both of Australia — did not surf yesterday.

The Hawai'i surfers have a shot at affecting the world-title race. Fanning is scheduled to face Meister in the third round; Parkinson is set to face Gillette.

There are 32 surfers remaining in the contest after yesterday's heats, including 12 from Hawai'i.

The contest is expected to continue today, if conditions are favorable.

For updated information, visit www.triplecrownofsurfing.com or call 596-7873.