Fisher's fall at the last lets in Levet

Having already fought off the challenge from favourite Lee Westwood, the 19-year-old from Chigwell stood on the 18th tee at Aloha with a one-shot lead over Levet and with his sights set on becoming the fifth youngest winner on the European Tour.

But the combination of an adrenaline rush, a strong gust of wind and a fierce fairway bounce conspired to send Fisher's drive with a three-iron into a lake 268 yards from the tee.

Scroll down for more

Fisher, widely regarded as one of England's brightest golfing prospects, managed to bogey the hole after dropping another ball and, when his French opponent made a miraculous recovery for par from a greenside bunker, the pair were forced into a play-off for the £130,000 winner's cheque.

Returning to the 18th tee, Levet produced two stunning shots to set up a winning birdie chance from 11 feet, but Fisher's hopes subsided when, using a four-iron second time around, he drove into a fairway bunker.

Fisher was determined to stay positive after being denied a victory that would have added to a c.v. which already shows him as the youngest member of a British Walker Cup side and the youngest Briton to earn a Tour card through qualifying school.

He said: "The 18th is a tricky hole when the wind is gusting like it was and obviously I'm disappointed with the way it went.

"There are a lot of positives to take out of the week.

"To play in the final group with Lee and Thomas and shoot a 67 was very pleasing and even when I had a couple of bogeys midway through the round I fought back."

Levet, 39, a member of the 2004 European Ryder Cup-winning team at Oakland Hills, completed his fourth victory in Europe after a two-year sickness nightmare.

Soon after featuring in Europe's record nine-point victory, he was struck down by severe vertigo and played only 18 events in 24 months because of balance difficulties.

But he had no problem being close to the top of a leaderboard again as he sank a 25ft birdie putt on the 17th green to cut into the three-shot advantage Fisher had held going into the final two holes.

The big surprise of the day was Westwood's failure to close out the tournament after he went into the fourth round with a one-shot lead and produced four birdies in his first six holes.

But the putts dried up and the world No 20 could shoot only 71 while Fisher, ranked 290, recorded a five-under par 67.