Great things were expected of Michael Hoey after his performance in the 2002 Masters.

But for a bogey at the 17th hole of his second round he would have become the first British amateur to survive the halfway cut at Augusta National since Peter McEvoy in 1978.

None has done it since either, but for the first time since that memorable week the 30-year-old from Northern Ireland woke up on Monday morning as a European Tour winner.

Five behind and down in a tie for 19th with 18 holes to go in the Estoril Portuguese Open at Oitavos Dunes Hoey charged through the field with a joint best-of-the-day 66.

He then had a long wait to see if his seven under par total was good enough, but of the 18 players who started the day ahead of him only Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano could match him.

That meant a play-off and Hoey, ranked 273rd in the world against his opponent's 84th, won it at the third extra hole to claim the first prize of £192,755.

Having made six trips to the qualifying school since he turned professional and having had to wait until last November to be successful at it, no wonder a two-year Tour exemption meant so much.

"It's a joke really - a bit of a dream," he said. "I didn't really think about winning when I teed off, but I was lucky - I got all the breaks.

"I couldn't believe I was in the play-off, let alone getting up and down, up and down, up and down."

The play-off began with two more trips down the 18th. Both players missed the green first time, but reigning British Masters champion Fernandez-Castano, who had won all his three previous sudden death shoot-outs, holed from eight feet and Hoey from four.

Next time the Madrid golfer almost converted a 35-foot birdie attempt and Hoey, short of the green once more, sank a five-footer to stay alive.

When they switched to the 17th they missed the green again. This time, however, Fernandez-Castano missed from 12 feet and Hoey holed from eight - the same distance he had failed from at the 72nd hole.

"I tried not to think about winning as I stood over the putt. It's amazing really.

"It's been tough. I've been grinding on the Challenge Tour, but coming through the qualifying school gave me confidence and so did my sixth place in Madeira two weeks ago."

Until that result his best finish on Tour had remained his 11th place in the 2001 Scottish Open, just after his victory in the British amateur championship.

He played with Luke Donald, Graeme McDowell and Nick Dougherty in the Walker Cup victory in Georgia later the same year, but while they were instant hits in the pro ranks his struggles began immediately.

"There are so many people to thank - my family, my coach, my sports psychologist, all my sponsors," he added. "I've always felt I had the talent - it was just about keeping interferences at bay."

He hopes, of course, it is just the start. McDowell and Rory McIlroy are the two Northern Irishman at The Masters this week, but maybe Hoey will make it back there in the future.

Collated final round scores & totals in the European Tour Estoril Open de Portugal, Oitavos Golfe, Quinta da Marinha, Cascais, Portugal

(Gbr & Irl unless stated, par 71):

277 Michael Hoey 66 76 69 66 (Michael Hoey won play-off at third extra hole), Gonzalo Fdez-Castano (Spa) 70 72 68 67

278 Francesco Molinari (Ita) 71 71 68 68

279 Mikael Lundberg (Swe) 70 72 67 70, Jamie Donaldson 71 69 67 72, Paul Broadhurst 71 68 67 73

280 Steve Webster 68 72 71 69, Paul Lawrie 71 69 68 72, Alastair Forsyth 67 73 69 71, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 69 73 69 69, David Lynn 69 73 65 73

281 Carlos Del Moral (Spa) 67 71 71 72, Francois Delamontagne (Fra) 71 73 66 71, David Horsey 68 74 71 68, Maarten Lafeber (Ned) 72 71 64 74, Rafael Echenique (Arg) 74 70 71 66, Callum Macaulay 70 70 72 69, David Dixon 69 73 68 71, Michael Jonzon (Swe) 72 71 70 68, Ross McGowan 64 73 71 73

282 Patrik Sjoland (Swe) 70 73 67 72, Robert Rock 69 72 71 70, Stuart Davis 70 69 74 69, Andrew Coltart 71 72 71 68, Pelle Edberg (Swe) 70 73 73 66, Jose Manuel Lara (Spa) 69 75 67 71, Christopher Doak 68 70 73 71

283 Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra) 72 72 69 70, Hennie Otto (Rsa) 69 73 75 66, Mark Brown (USA) 73 68 69 73

284 Christian Cevaer (Fra) 70 72 75 67, Niclas Fasth (Swe) 71 71 71 71, Thomas Bjorn (Den) 69 73 71 71, Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra) 74 68 73 69, Andrew McLardy (Rsa) 69 73 73 69

285 Richard Bland 70 70 74 71, Marcus Higley 70 73 73 69, Phillip Archer 72 69 69 75, Rhys Davies 71 73 73 68, Pablo Martin (Spa) 72 69 70 74, Simon Dyson 67 72 73 73, Simon Wakefield 70 73 71 71

286 Chris Wood 74 70 69 73, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 73 70 72 71, Stuart Manley 75 66 73 72, Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den) 70 74 65 77, Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg) 69 75 76 66, David Drysdale 71 71 76 68, Lee Slattery 72 72 72 70, John E Morgan 70 72 73 71, Stephen Gallacher 70 73 74 69, Wade Ormsby (Aus) 69 74 72 71, Miles Tunnicliff 69 70 74 73

287 Garry Houston 69 73 71 74, Estanislao Goya (Arg) 75 69 75 68, Phillip Price 72 70 75 70, Wil Besseling (Ned) 71 73 72 71, Alessandro Tadini (Ita) 70 72 73 72, Inder Van Weerelt (Ned) 72 72 70 73, Jean-Francois Remesy (Fra) 74 70 70 73, Ricardo Santos (Por) 68 74 76 69, Paul McGinley 70 74 72 71

288 Joakim Haeggman (Swe) 73 70 73 72, Michael Curtain (Aus) 70 74 71 73, Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa) 72 69 69 78, David Frost (Rsa) 71 71 71 75, Gregory Havret (Fra) 69 75 76 68

289 Daniel Vancsik (Arg) 68 71 74 76

290 Antonio Sobrinho (Por) 69 75 76 70, Mark Foster 68 74 75 73

291 Marc Cayeux (Zim) 72 72 78 69

292 Federico Colombo (Ita) 70 74 75 73, Birgir Hafthorsson (Ice) 69 75 76 72, Emanuele Canonica (Ita) 72 72 73 75

293 Tiago Cruz (Por) 71 72 78 72

295 Nuno Campino (Por) 70 74 79 72