At the start of yesterday's final for the Turbo Pipeline Pro, the chants from the beach were "Har-dy! Har-dy! Har-dy!"

By the end of the final, it was "Par-ty! Par-ty! Par-ty!"

Australia's Ryan Hardy earned a celebration by winning the Turbo Pipeline Pro men's bodyboarding contest.

The final day of the prestigious event was run in wave-face heights that ranged from 6 to 12 feet at the Banzai Pipeline.

"This contest always has the best guys, and there's only three other guys in the water in every heat, so you're really tested by the conditions," said Hardy, 29. "In a way, it proves where you stand against the best competition and against the best waves."

For now, Hardy is considered the top-ranked bodyboarder in the world.

The Pipeline Pro is the first event on the International Bodyboarding Association's 2009 world tour, so Hardy will be ranked No. 1 going into the next event in Brazil.

The Pipeline Pro is also one of five "Grand Slam" contests on the tour that offer double points for competitors.

"Winning this to start the year is really good for my momentum," Hardy said. "It means a lot to what I hope will be a world title campaign."

Hardy has been on the IBA tour for seven years, and was ranked as high as No. 2 in 2006. He is regarded as one of bodyboarding's best big-wave riders, with victories at dangerous venues such as Teahupoo, Tahiti, in 2000, and then Shark Island, Australia, in 2006.

But yesterday was his first victory at the famous Pipeline.

"It wasn't the best conditions — it wasn't big Pipe," Hardy said. "So I'd say the Tahiti win is still my best. But this is still an incredible win. I'm happy with it."

Hardy did it by rallying in the 30-minute final.

France's Pierre Luis Costes grabbed the early lead when he completed an aerial maneuver on a fast-closing 10-foot wave. The judges rewarded him with a score of 8.5 (out of 10).

"He had two good waves before I even got one, so I was feeling the pressure out there," Hardy said.

But that's when the contingent of about 30 Australians on the beach started chanting for Hardy.

"I could hear them the whole time; they were screaming every time I got on a wave," he said. "It really pushed me."

Midway through the heat, Hardy rode through a long barrel, and then completed two "el rollo" moves on the way out. The judges scored it a 9.43.

"It was a nice peak with a perfect form to it," Hardy said. "I was in the right position to get a deep barrel and came out. Once I got that one, I knew I was in contention."

Costes still had the lead late in the heat, but Hardy responded with about six minutes remaining. He caught a smaller wave, but still managed to ride through the barrel.

It received a score of 6.43, giving him a two-wave total of 15.86.

Costes finished with a two-wave score of 15.2.

Former world champion Guilherme Tamega of Brazil placed third with a score of 10.96, and Australia's Dave Winchester was fourth with 10.5.

Hardy received $4,000 for the victory, and said he will need to use some of it as a show of thanks for his "mates."

"There are obviously a lot of Australians here, so I'm sure we're going to have a nice celebration here in Hawai'i before we leave," he said.

Kaua'i's David Phillips was the top Hawai'i finisher. He was eliminated in the semifinals, and earned $600 for seventh place.

Phillips, 20, is still considered an amateur competitor, and yesterday was his best showing in a professional contest.

"I'm kind of bummed that no other Hawaiians made it to the final, but it feels good for me to get this far," he said. "I think a lot of the Hawaiians would have liked it to be bigger (waves), but it was still contestable."

Because of his strong finish yesterday, Phillips said he will try to compete on the rest of the 2009 world tour.

"I don't get paid to do this, so I'm going to need some funds," he said. "But I'd like to try and do all the big events and keep my points up."

Jeff Hubbard of Kaua'i and Mike Stewart of Kailua, Kona, were eliminated in the quarterfinals.

Kaua'i's Bud Miyamoto won the drop-knee division.

FINAL RESULTS

1, Ryan Hardy (Australia), $4,000. 2, Pierre Luis Costes (France), $2,800. 3, Guilherme Tamega (Brazil), $1,800. 4, Dave Winchester (Australia), $1,000. 5 (tie), Mark McCarthy (Australia) and Paulo Barcellos (Brazil), $800. 7 (tie), David Phillips (Hawai'i) and Mitch Rawlins (Australia), $600. 9 (tie), Michael Novy (Australia), Ardiel Jimenez (Canary Islands), Toby Player (Australia), Ben Player (Australia), $500. 13 (tie), Jeff Hubbard (Hawai'i), Uri Valadao (Brazil), Dave Crowley (Australia), Mike Stewart (Hawai'i), $400.

LMNOP DROP-KNEE DIVISION

1, Bud Miyamoto (Hawai'i), $1,000. 2, Dave Hubbard (Hawai'i), $300. 3, Sacha Specker (South Africa), $250. 4, Damien Boone (Hawai'i), $200. 5, Joe Grodzen (California), $150. 6, Matt Lackey (Australia), $100.