Ashley Walton certainly left his mark on the final qualifying rounds for the Open Championship - but not in the way he had hoped.

The young amateur from Frilford Heath had a nosebleed in the second of his two rounds at Western Gailes and had to retire.

"I tried carrying on, but the bleeding just wouldn't stop for 20 minutes," said Walton, who was out of contention at the time.

"I've had nosebleeds before, but never one that didn't stop after a few minutes."

He refuted the suggestion that the condition had been caused by pressure.

Walton left a trail of blood on the tee and down a couple of fairways, before, shortly after pulling out, the bleeding stopped.

"I was very reluctant to pull out, as I was playing well over the first holes of my second round," he added.

Walton's already slim chances of making one of the three qualifying spots, had disappeared with a 12-over par first round of 83.

The main trouble came towards the end of the round, when he double-bogeyed the 16th and then hit two balls in the water at the 17th.

"I was striking the ball well in the second round, but the pins in some impossible positions.

"Overall, I felt I hadn't done myself justice and am determined to have another go," said the former Berks, Bucks & Oxon amateur champion, who plays off a plus one handicap.

Walton's club colleague Tom Fleming fared better with rounds of 76 and 78 for a total of 154, which put him in the top half of the field.

Indeed, he finished only four shots behind former Open runner-up Costantino Rocca.

Pat Fleming, who caddied for his son, said: "Tom had trouble on the greens, which were much faster than he was used to, but overall he was pleased with his performance."

Both Walton and Fleming are now looking forward to the English Amateur Championship at Hollinwell in two weeks' time.

The third Oxfordshire player trying for a place in Open was Ghana's Jihn Mawuli, who practices at the Oxford Golf Centre.

Playing on the same course as Fleming, the 28-year-old professional shot rounds of 81 and 80 for 161.