Hot prospect Hoey, 25, was chasing his first tour win but came up one shot adrift of choking American Brad Sutterfield at Los Incas.

Needing a birdie at the last to force a possible play-off, Hoey dumped his approach in the greenside lake and made bogey.

His three under 69 was good enough for a share of second place with England’s Stuart Davis on 11 under par.

Hoey’s pain was a massive relief for Sutterfield, who led by four at one stage before nerves set in over the closing holes.

In the end he could afford to three-putt the 18th for a 69 and victory after Davis had missed a 12 footer for birdie that could have forced extra holes.

Despite his disappointment, Hoey picked up €11,292 to climb to third in the 2005 Challenge Tour ranking with almost €25,000 from his first three starts.

The former Walker Cup winner and 2001 Amateur champion was 17th in the Mexican Open two weeks ago and third in last week’s Panama Open.

He will avoid the qualifying school and go straight on to the main tour in 2006, if he remains in the top 15 until the end of the season.

Hoey said: “It was nice to play golf in Peru and I gave it a run. I had to have a go at the 18th from the rough and well, the shot didn’t quite work out.

“We all played great. Brad got it off to a fantastic start, we kept with him, but finally, he was a just winner. We all had chances and it was a fun afternoon.”

One ahead starting the day, Sutterfield birdied three of the first four holes to go three clear of his pursuers.

Further birdies at the eighth and 10th put the American four ahead and while Hoey birdied the 12th to maintain his hopes, a bogey to Sutterfield’s birdie at the par five 14th looked to have settled the issue.

But there as more drama to come as Sutterfield nervously bogeyed the 15th and dropped another shot on the 16th where Hoey birdied to close the gap to one stroke.

The Belfast man was still just one behind playing the last but pulled his second into the greenside lake from the right rough in a last ditch birdie bid.

He got up and down for his bogey five but Sutterfield had the luxury of three putts for the win after Davis had missed his last gasp birdie effort.

The Peru Open was the last of three joint sanctioned events between the Tour de las Americas and the European Challenge Tour.

There will be a minimum of three more co-sanctioned events in Latin America early in 2005.