Five times Irish champion Claire Dowling rolled back the years as she qualified for the matchplay stages of the British Women's Amateur Championship at Little Aston yesterday.

The 40-year old, former Curtis Cup star, now based in Warwickshire, has not played competitive golf on a regular basis since 1992.

And she only entered this week in an attempt to sharpen her game for the challenge of captaining Britain and Ireland in the World Amateur team championships in Chile later this year.

"I never expected to qualify and just wanted to get in some practice at the highest level in case I am required to play out in Chile," said Dowling, who returned a 77 yesterday for a 159 total, one stroke inside the qualifying limit.

This morning she faces last year's Welsh champion Eleanor Pilgrim, a player 20 years her junior.

Barbara Hackett recovered from a disastrous front nine to return a 79 yesterday for a 151 total and a share of eighth place. She was joined on that score by Alison Coffey.

Irish champion, Lillian Behan was another who made it comfortably on the 155 mark.

At least one Irish player is guaranteed to make progress into the last 32 with Coffey and Suzanne O'Brien meeting in the opening round this morning.

France's Karine Icher led the qualifiers, adding a 75 to her opening 70. She led by a stroke from German teenager Miriam Nagl who had set the early standard with a 146 total. The 17-year-old Brazilian-born youngster followed up her opening round 71 with a 75. Defending champion Alison Rose improved by seven shots on her opening round of 80 to move into a comfortable qualifying position for the matchplay stages. The biggest casualty was Curtis Cup player Karen Stupples whose total of 163 was three too many.