“1971 Smirnoff Pro-Am,” by Bill Hamilton, SURFER, April 1972.

From a professional surfer’s viewpoint, the general consensus is that the Smirnoff meet is a good one.

Considering what needs to be done in order to get the show on the road, I thought Fred Hemmings, Ron Sorrell, and the rest of the troops did a fine job.

Of course, we did get surf, as the North Shore was receiving a solid eight-to ten-foot westerly. The decision was made to hold the contest at Sunset, which over the last five years has been home to the Duke Kahanamoku Invitational. Truly a fine location for a surfing tournament, where the surfer must contend with a wide range of variables from an elevator drop to an endurance swim through turbulent water to chase after a lost board.

The wheels began to roll. Judges and scorekeepers were all pulled together inside a quickly roped-off area, as meet director Hemmings hustled around with a forceful air of “let’s get with it."

The first heat was called, consisting of Owl Chapman, Gavin Rudolph, Reno Abellira, Felipe Pomar, one of the Lalley brothers, and Chris Barrow. The victor was Owl, who, after upon hitting the beach afterward, received a $100 check (Smirnoff gave $100 bonus prize to each of the seven heat winners) and a pin-up kiss from Miss Smirnoff, a buxom blond from the brewery. Meanwhile, in the background, there resounded a consistent and very distinctive commentary from Lord James Blears, the healthy Irish-like growl of an old wrestler, who now earns fame and fortune as a wrestling commentator for television.

The number of spectators was impressive, with a large variety of sun worshipers, easy riders, and Kansas City onlookers. The crowd did not reach the magnitude of the big Huntington meet, but the filmmakers and cameramen were out in full regalia. Looks like a few surfing movies will be coming soon.

The waves continued to pump throughout the day, and those professionals who were lucky and skillful enough managed to partake in the uncrowded action through prelim heats, semifinal heats, and the final. For all of us, the $35 entry fee was a gamble, but the surf proved worthy of the fee.

The surfing, to my eyes, wasn’t exactly radical. A few steep takeoffs, a few off-the-lips, and a couple of tubes. Jeff (Surf Muscle) Hakman was in usual form, but not full-on enough. The bottles of Mateus wine from the wee hours the night before had, no doubt, put some of his energy asunder. Kanaiaupuni wasn’t connecting right either; full-on, but not precise enough. Jim Blears surfed well. Reno Abellira sliced his share, and ol’ Owl Chapman hung in there—maybe a little too close to the shoulder early in the game, but deeper as the day progressed.

In the final, Gavin Rudolph, a calm, self-assured young man from South Africa, did the job. Blending in with the available juice, he willingly used the more critical parts of the wave; also, his timing with the wave interval was in perfect harmony—Gavin was always in the right spot at the right time.

I managed to capture second. Jeff Hakman was a closing third; Ryan Dotson, fourth; Ed Aikau, fifth; Clyde Aikau, sixth; Ben Aipa, seventh; Owl Chapman, eighth.

Gavin received $2,500 from Heublein, Inc.—Smirnoff Vodka being one of its many interests. Second received $1,000; third, $500; fourth, $300; fifth, $200; sixth, $175; seventh, $100; eighth, $75.

Also, to top it off, the first six places were given a round-trip, 30-day expense-paid vacation to South Africa—compliments of Gunston Tobacco, and the South Seas Liquor Company of Africa. Such fine, clean sponsors the Sport of Kings has attracted, eh?

It would seem that the sport of surfing is moving toward a greater level of recognition by people not so much connected with the surfing world per se, but that of the business world, where advertising is a key factor for success.

Possibly, these people recognize surfing as a young, growing sport that will some day evolve into like football or baseball. I think it’s good in a sense that Heublein, ABC's Wide World of Sports, and Jantzen, to name a few, have contributed a little water from their can to help surfing grow. No doubt we are a good source for a small tax write-off, but I think the benefits to the surfer are relevant. Frankly, I wouldn’t mind taking home $7,000 bucks for surfing in a commercially organized, sponsored surfing tournament. It’s a hell of a lot better than digging ditches or driving a honey wagon. I’ve had to face up to the fact that to live the way you want, that ol’ green stuff makes the path a lot less cluttered.

[Note: this article has been edited and shortened from the original]

"Unknown Rides to Surfing Purse," by Ken Kobayashi, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Nov 21, 1971

A young, unknown South African surfed away with the sport's largest purse ever from seven Hawaii finalists yesterday in one of the biggest surfing surprises in surf contest history.

Gavin Rudolph, only 18 years old, copped $2,500 and first prize in the Smirnoff Pro surfing contest in Sunset's solid eight-to-ten foot surf.

Hawaii's veteran surfers, among them Billy Hamilton, who finished second and Jeff Hakman, who finished third, were simply out-surfed by the young blond surfer.

Ryan Dotson was fourth, followed by the Aikau brothers, Eddie in fifth and Clyde in sixth, Ben Aipa in seventh, and Owl Chapman in eighth.

"Unreal,” said Rudolph, after the win. And indeed it was.

The waves were the biggest Rudolph ever surfed; it was only his second day at Sunset, ever, and the major victory is his first ever.

But there was no question about his win in that 65-minute final, which climaxed six long hours of surfing.

"He won by a mile," said Corky Carroll, himself a fine surfer who scribbled out a scoreshect on the back of a fried chicken box and gave it to Rudolph as he waded out from the water.

Nearly everyone agreed. Rudolph was fourth early in the heat, but then came on strong In the middle to take first. And in the second half there was no doubt about his mastery over the waves and superiority over the others.

"It was luck. I played it cool. Everybody was catching the first or second waves in the set, [while] I just waited and I was lucky I was in the right spot. I don't think I've ever had so much luck,” Rudolph said, clutching his whopping $2,500 payoff and another $150 check for scoring the most points in the final.

Rudolph's closest competition was Hamilton, who had a shot at first until a wipeout put him out of action for the last seven minutes of the final.

Rudolph also acknowledged a little help he received from Hamilton. As the South African tells it, both he and Billy were about to catch a 12-footer close to the end of the heat, when either could go ahead.

“'I want this one, pleeeeese?’ I said.” Rudolph explained. "And Billy let me have it. It was the key wave, it was so big, and I think he could have won it if he caught it.”

Of course, Rudolph had the inside position—the right of way—but it was still a fine gesture by Hamilton who soon alter lost his board and any chance at the $2,500. His runner-up placing was good for $1,000, however. All the finalists made money. Hakman went home with $500 for third and another $250 for his preliminary and semifinal firsts. Dotson won $300; Eddie Aikau collected $350; Clyde Aikau copped $175; Ben Aipa had $100, and hard-luck Chapman, who was wiped out twice and left the finals 15 minutes early, took home $175, including $100 for a prelim heat win.

Each of the seven preliminary heat winners won $100. Semifinal winners were awarded $150, pushing the Smirnoff purse to $6,500.

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