(REUTERS) – World Champion John John Florence wrapped up his first ever title on the Championship Tour with a 5th place finish at the Billabong Pipe Masters in Memory of Andy Irons on Monday (December 19).
The 24-year-old North Shore native claimed the top honors of the World Surf League with victory at the tenth stop of the tour at the MEO Rip Curl Pro in Portugal in October before returning to his stomping ground on Oahu for the season-ending events of the Triple Crown of Surfing.
“I have had an amazing year and it was a little unfortunate that in that heat I made a couple of mistakes,” said Florence.
“The waves are really fun right now and I am just stoked to be home and to finish the year, really. It has been a long year. Now I can just go surfing and take a break for a while.”
Florence was knocked out of the Pipe Masters in the quarterfinals by the eventual champion Michel Bourez of Tahiti.
Although he finished with a disappointing 5th place at the Pipeline, the Hawaiian has made history with his two wins in all competitions on the North Shore this year. He also was one of only two surfers to win twice on the Championship Tour during the season — the other being Australia’s Matt Wilkinson. However, while Wilkinson faded through the course of the season, Florence added six other top-5 finishes to help seal his world title.
Florence started the year with a memorable win at the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational in February. Then in May he won the Oi Rio Pro in Brazil for his first win on tour, which he clinched in Portugal with his second win.
In November, he returned to the North Shore to take the Hawaiian Pro, the first event of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, in his home town of Haleiwa. He next went out in the 4th round of the Vans World Cup at Sunset Beach earlier in December before his 5th round exit at the Pipeline, but his combined scores at the three famed breaks of Pipeline, Sunset and Haleiwa were enough to earn the Triple Crown of Surfing for the third time in his career.
“It’s been pretty crazy last couple, well, the last month since Portugal and just coming straight home to the Triple Crown and stuff, and so, it’s definitely super relaxing to just take the jersey off and surf and have fun,” he said.
Florence will now lead the elite 34 surfers on tour with the number one ranking for the coming 2017 season, which will kick off on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia in March.