There may just be a few more bottles of bubbly being popped open at Scott Henry’s forthcoming wedding after this. Having negotiated the pitfalls and perils of the European Tour’s qualifying school final at PGA Catalunya, walking down the aisle should be a carefree amble in comparison. Walking in a straight line during his stag do in Tenerife this weekend may be a struggle, mind you.

There are plenty of reasons to celebrate, of course. Six torturous, mind-mangling days in north east Spain were rewarded yesterday as Henry comfortably regained the European Tour card he lost three years ago. A closing five-under 67 over the Stadium Course, for a 12-under aggregate of 416, left the 29-year-old in a share of second place and safely among the 25 and ties who earned tickets for the 2017 Race to Dubai.

It was a long week for Henry, who began with a bang and shot a 64 in round one before cards of 75, 70 and 72 left him floating about in the middle ground. In this exacting, 108-hole grind, Henry upped the ante when it mattered and covered his closing 36-holes in nine-under to barge his way into the qualifying zone.

The Clydebank man had actually propelled himself to the head of the standings during his final round as he fought to become the first Scottish winner of the q-school since Alastair Forsyth back in 1999. An eagle on the 15th and a birdie on the 16th had him seven-under for his round but he leaked shots at both the 17th and 18th to slip off the top and finish just a stroke behind eventual winner, Nathan Kimsey. Henry had done more than enough, though. “It was definitely the most pressure I’ve faced in golf,” said the Scot, who was joined in a share of second by Ricardo Gonzalez and former Ryder Cup player Edoardo Molinari. “I just missed out on a play-off for the Johnnie Walker Championship on the main tour in 2013 and that’s the kind of pressure you want to be under. You want to be on the main tour, not here at q-school.

“I was not firing on all cylinders coming here but you just have to keep going as with six rounds of golf so much can happen. I did feel that over the first four rounds I got absolutely nothing out of my game. But then to shoot four-under on Wednesday and then end with five-under was very special. Even though I finished bogey, bogey, I knew I had that cushion.”

There is no doubt that Henry, who dominated the Scottish junior scene as a promising, powerful amateur before winning the Scottish Open Strokeplay Championship in the senior ranks, has the talent to prosper at a higher level. His share of fourth in that aforementioned Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles during his last full season at the top table in 2013 showed that when he can get in the mix, he can thrive. Losing his card at the end of that campaign was a hard one to stomach and since then his career has been a bit hither and yon. He has had starts on both the European Tour and the Challenge Tour but has not made a strong enough impact on either. This season he finished 35th on the second-tier circuit’s rankings – 20 places outside the promotion places – but the gamble in the last chance saloon of the qualifying school has paid off.

"No offence to the Challenge Tour, but I absolutely despise playing it and that was my biggest incentive for pushing on and getting my European Tour card,” added Henry, who won on the Challenge Tour in Kazakhstan in 2012.

Along with Challenge Tour graduate Duncan Stewart, Henry will be Scotland’s fresh face on the European Tour in 2017. At 29, he’ll also be the youngest. Ross Kellett, 28, David Law, 25, and Bradley Neil, 20, had all hoped to make the step up too but they failed to make the qualifying grade in Spain. Kellett closed with a 72 and finished three shots shy of the mark on 426 while Law, sharing fifth at halfway and just a shot from the top 25 heading into the last round, sagged to a 78 to finish down on 430. Neil joined him on that tally after signing off with a 68. That Scottish trio will have full Challenge Tour cards next year. Henry, meanwhile, is heading back to the big time.