Fourteen years ago, Poncho Sullivan, then 18, entered his first Triple Crown of Surfing event as a beach entry, winning $900 after surviving a few heats.

Yesterday, he won it all at the OP Pro Hawai'i, the first stop of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing championships, at Hale'iwa Ali'i Beach.

"I just happened to bring my board," he said of his Triple Crown debut at Sunset Beach. "I thought, 'This is what I want to do for a living.' "

Sullivan was the lone surfer from Hawai'i in yesterday's four-man final. He scored 17.23 points to beat Australia's Mick Fanning (15.90), Brazil's Raoni Monteiro (13.43) and California's Brett Simpson (12.60).

The contest was completed in waves of 6 to 8 feet, with an occasional 10-footer.

"It feels rewarding to win the event in my backyard," said Sullivan, who grew up on the North Shore.

Sullivan, 32, won $15,000. With his first-place finish, he moved up to 11th in the men's World Qualifying Series, all but ensuring him a spot on the World Championship Tour for the top 44 ranked male surfers.

"Wow, that's something completely different," said Sullivan, who didn't know he had qualified for the WCT. "I kinda let that part of my year go. My focus was back on the Triple Crown."

He scored a 9.33 (10 is perfect) on his second wave in the finals, where surfers are scored on their top two waves in a 35-minute heat. Fanning overtook him, but Sullivan scored a 7.90 on his fourth and final wave to regain the lead.

"I got lucky and got that one wave that barreled and opened up," Sullivan said. "It was the one wave I needed to seal the deal."

Fanning, who started the final heat losing his board after his leash snapped, tried to overcome his slow start with a flurry of rides, catching nine waves in all.

"It took a little bit of energy out," he said of losing his board. "I'm really stoked for Poncho to get a win. He's a legend, too."

Fanning won $8,000, Monteiro $6,000 and Simpson $4,000.

While the tour welcomes one Hawai'i surfer, it is also saying aloha to another. Sunny Garcia surfed the OP Pro Hawai'i for the last time as a member of the WCT. He announced at the start of the event that he would be retiring from the tour.

Garcia scored a two-wave total of 13.64 (7.87 and 5.77), finishing last in his semifinal heat.

"I enjoy competing, but it's time for me to do something else," said Garcia, a six-time Vans Triple Crown champion, who was Hawai'i's only other semifinalist yesterday.

Also in the semifinals were Australia's Adrian Buchan, Joel Parkinson and Luke Munro.

Hawai'i's Kaipo Jaquias, Jamie O'Brien and Roy Powers advanced to the quarterfinals.

Powers, of Hanalei, qualified for the WCT with his quarterfinal finish, moving up to sixth place in the WQS ratings.

"I'm disappointed because I wanted to do better. It feels good, but I wanted to make a big statement at the beginning of the Triple Crown," Powers said. "But in the long term, I'm beyond ecstatic."

Next for the Triple Crown is the O'Neill World Cup of Surfing at Sunset Beach. The holding period starts tomorrow and runs though Dec. 6. For more information, go to www.triplecrownofsurfing.com.

Reach Leila Wai at lwai@honoluluadvertiser.com.