Granger Larsen of Napili placed second in the HIC Pro on Saturday, finishing as the runner-up to former Association of Surfing Professionals world champion Sunny Garcia.
In the final at Sunset Beach on Oahu's North Shore, Garcia won with a score of 14.83, and Larsen posted a 12.50.
"Of course I wanted to win, but I'm pretty stoked to get this far," Larsen said.
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Granger Larsen competes in the HIC Pro on Saturday at Sunset Beach on Oahu’s North Shore.
BERNIE?BAKER?photo
Gregg Nakamura was third with a 14.83, and Fredrick Patacchia (7.33) was fourth.
Larsen and Garcia both had to complete their fifth-round heats on Saturday - theirs were the last two not finished after Friday's competition - and each surfed in five heats altogether on the contest's final day.
Larsen, 22, and Garcia, 42 and a grandfather, were grouped together in each of the last three rounds. Larsen took first place in their quarterfinal heat with a score of 15.10 - the ninth-best heat score in the contest altogether - before Garcia won the final two.
"Every heat, I was getting a little more rhythm," said Larsen, who reached the semifinals of the Australian Open in February.
Garcia, a six-time Triple Crown champion, also won the HIC Pro in 1992.
"I want to thank all of you out there who have supported me and continue to support surfing," Garcia said. "It's because of you that I've been able to live the dream for so long.
"For an aging athlete that's so used to being at the top and winning, it really is hard when you get old and you see all these young guys doing good and kicking your butt. I'm just glad I still get to compete against these young guys and beat them every now and then."
Garcia earned $15,000, and Larsen received $7,500. Nakamura won $5,000 and Patacchia $3,500.
Garcia earned wild-card berths into the first two events of this year's Triple Crown - the Reef Hawaiian Pro, with a holding period that begins Monday, and the Vans World Cup of Surfing.
Ian Gentil of Paia was eliminated in the quarterfinals. Hank Gaskell of Hana and Tanner Hendrickson of Haiku bowed out in the fifth round.
