He could blame a small pine needle for a harsh one-stroke penalty that ended up costing him two shots.

But like Michael Hoey, who also left empty-handed, West Waterford’s Gary Hurley knows that too many mistakes were made and too many putts were missed over 108 holes as he missed out on his card by three shots in the European Tour Qualifying School at PGA Catalunya Resort.

While Hoey’s year long struggles with his game manifested themselves at exactly the critical moment and he hit shots into water at his 12th and 13th holes to make back to back sixes and miss out by two after a 72, Hurley’s demise was more dramatic as mother nature and the Rules of Golf conspired against him at just the wrong time.

Five strokes outside the eventual five under par qualifying mark starting the day, the 23-year old started with a bogey at the 10th but then surged into the mix thanks to a sensational run of five successive birdies from his second hole.

Ironically, considering it was his putting he felt let him down in the end, the happy-go-lucky Waterford lad rattled in putts from all angles - 30 feet for a two at the 11th, close range at the par-five 12th, 10 feet at the 13th, 20 feet at the 14th and six feet at the par-five 15th to get within two shots of the Holy Grail of the top 25 and ties.

Even when he bogeyed the second, his 11th, following a poor chip, he recovered superbly by reducing the 560-yard, par-five third to a perfect drive, a ripped rescue club to the heart of the green and two solid putts.

With six holes to go, the dream was very much alive. Then, in the space of 30 minutes, it evaporated in front of his eyes.

With playing partners Simon Khan and Robert Dinwiddie enduring problems on the 411-yard fourth - the toughest hole on the final day - he had too much time to contemplate a tricky wedge to a tight back left pin and airmailed the green before misreading a three footer for par.

Annoyed, he narrowly failed to birdie the fifth after a glorious five-iron to 15 feet, then saw his tour card get away at the sixth.

Two yards short of the green with his approach, he went to see if a pine needle near his ball was embedded or loose and touched it. It proved to be a fatal error as the ball moved.

“It was a double pine needle,” Hurley explained. “Half of it looked like it might be stuck in the ground. I just touched it and saw it was stuck. And the ball didn’t move.

“Then I stood up and just as I was glancing away, I saw the ball just roll.”

He called over referee Gary Butler and was handed a one-stroke penalty before hitting an average chip and missing a three footer for bogey.

“I couldn’t even get the ball back to where it was originally,” he said. “Anyway, my head was a bit melted for that chip shot and that putt.”

Back to one under par, Hurley did well to birdie the par-five seventh and then par the last two holes for a two under par 70 that left him tied for 44th on two under par.

He ended up three strokes outside the magic number which slipped from six to five under at the death, allowing exactly 30 players to win their cards.

But despite his disappointment, Hurley left Girona with more than he had on arrival - a full Challenge Tour card and the knowledge that he is good enough to make it.

“I just hit two or three shots that weren’t good enough,” he said. “I wasn’t at my best and I gave myself a chance. This time it just didn’t work out. I will go away and try to get better.

“Putting is probably the best part of my game but it just left me the last two weeks. If I had just putted half decent this week, it could have been so much better. But it is over now and we will regroup and I can plan my season next year on Challenge Tour, which is nice.

“If you had said to me a month ago I’d have a chance down to the stretch to win my card, I’d definitely have taken it. I struggled with my game over the summer.”

The five under 65 he shot in round four to make the cut on the number, coupled with the first 12 holes of the final round, told Hurley he has what it takes to make it.

“To shoot five under to make the cut was huge for me going forward,” he said, before admitting that he needs to work in speeding up his putting routine. “And even today after bogeying the first, I played great.”

Hoey’s demise didn’t come on the greens but between the ears.

Having fought back to one under par after an opening double bogey six at the 10th - he birdied the 12th, 15th and second, - he hit a 90 yard wedge over the third green into the lake and made a bogey six, then pulled a three-wood tee shot into the lake at the fourth and ran up a double bogey six.

Having been within a shot of the eventual qualifying mark with six holes to play, those back-to-back sixes ended his challenge and three birdies and a bogey over the last five holes were simply academic.

“You can’t do that stuff and I have done that all year, hit good shots into water,” Hoey said of his misjudgment on the third.

“I could have made it easily this week but it is all about being sharp and having judgement and I haven’t had that. Hopefully I can get some of it again and get my card from the Challenge Tour next year.”

Hoey’s disappointment contrasted with the joy felt by playing partner Ricardo Gonzalez, who at 47 years and 24 days, became the oldest ever Q-School graduate.

The burly Argentinian shot an eight under 64 to finish tied second with Scotland’s Scott Henry and Italy’s Edoardo Molinari, a shot behind tournament winner Nathan Kimsey of England on 12 under par.

“I feel great because I waited for a year to do this and it’s a lot of pressure,” said the emotional Argentinian afterwards. “When you finish like this, with a 64 in the last round on a difficult course, it’s impossible to feel bad.”

European Tour Qualifying School Final Stage, PGA Catalunya Resort, Girona, Spain (Stadium Course Par 72; Tour Course, Par 70)

After round six (last 2 rounds on Stadium Course):

Qualifiers

415 N Kimsey (Eng) 70 70 71 61 73 70;

416 R Gonzalez (Arg) 67 73 72 71 69 64; S Henry (Sco) 64 75 70 72 68 67; E Molinari (Ita) 66 68 72 69 67 74;

418 S Tiley (Eng) 64 71 74 71 71 67; J Fahrbring (Swe) 68 68 72 72 70 68; A Karlsson (Swe) 71 69 71 68 71 68; E Pepperell (Eng) 69 69 69 71 69 71;

419 J Parry (Eng) 71 67 69 75 69 68; M Nixon (Eng) 67 73 71 68 68 72;

420 R Echenique (Arg) 69 69 72 71 73 66; S Soderberg (Swe) 72 71 73 65 69 70; P Maddy (Eng) 75 67 72 67 68 71; Y Yang (Kor) 72 70 67 69 71 71; T Lewis (Eng) 73 65 71 68 70 73;

421 S Manley (Wal) 72 63 73 69 74 70; A Chesters (Eng) 68 66 73 73 70 71; J Winther (Den) 68 68 68 71 75 71;

422 S Heisele (Ger) 68 66 72 73 76 67; L Canter (Eng) 69 66 73 73 71 70; P Widegren (Swe) 72 71 74 66 68 71; R Johnson (Swe) 72 67 72 71 69 71; M Foster (Eng) 67 71 74 72 66 72; M Orrin (Eng) 67 68 76 67 70 74;

423 G King (Eng) 73 66 74 69 75 66; J Ahlers (RSA) 70 71 72 67 74 69; E Kofstad (Nor) 67 68 74 71 72 71; J Rutherford (Eng) 72 72 70 66 68 75; N Johansson (Swe) 70 67 70 69 72 75; R McEvoy (Eng) 63 69 71 72 72 76;

Non-qualifiers

424 O Lengden (Swe) 73 65 68 78 70 70; J Suri (USA) 64 70 74 73 72 71; J Allan (Eng) 67 70 72 73 70 72; A Connelly (Can) 71 67 73 69 72 72; J Heath (Eng) 70 71 74 65 70 74; R Coles (Eng) 64 68 71 72 74 75;

425 A Rai (Eng) 66 67 74 74 75 69; M Hoey (Nir) 70 67 76 71 69 72; D Burmester (RSA) 73 68 73 68 71 72; D Fox (Aus) 72 66 71 70 73 73; R Gangjee (Ind) 68 69 73 71 70 74; K Horne (RSA) 68 72 69 72 70 74; R McGowan (Eng) 68 66 70 72 75 74;

426 G Hurley (Irl) 74 69 76 65 72 70; J Blaauw (RSA) 71 67 73 72 71 72; R Kellett (Sco) 72 66 73 72 71 72; O Wilson (Eng) 68 70 71 72 73 72; Z Lombard (RSA) 67 67 74 72 70 76;

427 C Ford (Eng) 76 63 70 69 77 72; M Lundberg (Swe) 71 70 72 67 74 73;

428 D Van Driel (Ned) 66 69 70 73 78 72; C Braeunig (Ger) 66 67 73 74 72 76;

429 S Webster (Eng) 64 74 74 72 74 71; R McCarthy (Aus) 74 64 74 70 75 72; R Dinwiddie (Eng) 72 69 73 70 72 73; E Van Rooyen (RSA) 71 67 68 74 75 74; E Dubois (Fra) 71 65 74 73 71 75;

430 B Neil (Sco) 64 72 71 77 78 68; B Etchart (Esp) 66 72 73 72 74 73; B Eccles (Aus) 67 68 74 74 74 73; M Delpodio (Ita) 73 68 76 67 71 75; E Di Nitto (Ita) 70 69 71 73 71 76; G Porteous (Eng) 73 66 73 70 71 77; D Law (Sco) 66 71 68 76 71 78;

431 T Chuayprakong (Tha) 64 74 67 74 79 73; M Ford (Eng) 72 68 72 72 71 76;

432 A Maestroni (Ita) 68 74 73 69 75 73; J Guerrier (Fra) 69 70 68 74 75 76; R Sciot-Siegrist (Fra) 67 72 73 71 68 81;

433 B Stow (Eng) 69 70 73 72 73 76; S Khan (Eng) 72 67 69 73 74 78;

434 M Lafeber (Ned) 65 71 72 75 71 80.