THE EUROPEAN Tour Qualifying School is big business for the tour, with 916 players paying €1,600 each (€1.46 million) for the privilege of trying to win or hold on to their dream ticket.

Of the 715 players who played in the first two stages at 12 venues all over Europe, 77 have made it to this week’s 108-hole finals at PGA Golf de Catalunya in Girona.

The field for the six-round test is fixed at 156, with the pre-qualifiers joined by 79 exempt players.

They will play two rounds on PGA Catalunya’s Stadium and Tour courses, then the top-70 and ties will battle it out on the Stadium Course over another 36 holes, with the top-30 and ties earning full playing rights on the European Tour for the 2010 season.