Ed Rush ought to frame his first ever cheque from the PGA European Tour, if finances permit.

The amount is piffling compared with the £67,789 trousered by Bradley Dredge for winning his maiden title.

Rush, an East Sussex National trainee, won £599 for finishing 76th in the Madeira Open.

The cheque may be of nostalgic interest in years to come. Right now the greatest satisfaction is in having cleared his expenses for the trip.

The former Sussex Colts champion, 23, from Chelwood Gate, can hold his head up high because no fewer than 67 hopefuls finished behind him and there were almost 20 ex-Ryder Cup players in the field.

Making a big-time event was his reward for tieing 55th in the Tour Qualifying School last November in Spain.

Then, in only his second attempt to compete at top level, Rush was seven-under-par 421 after six gruelling rounds when 39 players won their cards in making the 11-under deadline of 417.

Never mind the Open and the Masters, the Tour School is the cruellest event of all.

It was to Rush's credit that he contested the 72-hole second stage over four days against 100 exempt players and 136 who had qualified.

At the end of a traumatic dog-eat-dog week, Rush was entitled to category 14 status on the Tour, giving him a minimum of four starts and the first was in Madeira. But was he nervous?

He said: "No, it was good and I was pleased to make the cut by three strokes which meant I didn't have to pack my bag early.

"But I didn't do myself justice and couldn't quite achieve the rhythm I wanted. Maybe that was due to a lot of stops and starts but I'm not making excuses."

East Sussex members have rallied round Rush whose arrival on the circuit failed to make much of an impact. But it was important to him, a rookie, to get a feel of what it is like to compete in a Tour event and sample the atmosphere.

Rush made a point of watching Seve Ballesteros tee-off. He said: "Seve is still really awesome and there were a lot of people watching."

Fading superstar Ballesteros, 45, finished joint 67th on 298 and four strokes better than Rush who started with a one under-par 71 but then fell away taking 78, 75 and 78.

Rush doesn't know when the next invitation will come from the Tour and will concentrate on lesser tournaments under the Challenge Tour banner starting on April 10 in Morocco.