“It would be great if it was between the two of us come Sunday afternoon and see who holes the putts,” said Warren after a 70 for a six-under-par aggregate of 138 that left him one behind Gallacher, who also had a 70 yesterday, and three behind co-leaders Julien Guerrier of France and Gary Boyd and David Lynn of England.
“There is still a long way to go before we can really talk about that, but this is the first time I have had the buzz of being in contention for a while. I’m getting excited at the shots I am hitting and it’s nice to see my name on the leaderboard, as well.”
Neither player is in contention for Colin Montgomerie’s team to meet the USA at Celtic Manor, Wales, from October 1 to 3 but the prospect of winning on home turf is still a big deal for both players, who each have their own agenda.
Gallacher is seeking his first European Tour win for six years and he is within striking distance, at No.79, of the world’s elite top 50, who are eligible for all major and world golf championships.
Warren won this tournament and the World Cup for Scotland in partnership with Montgomerie three years ago, but now he is simply seeking survival. He has fallen to world No.426, and at No.147 in the Race to Dubai standings is in danger of losing his playing rights.
“I was hitting balls next to Monty on the range today and he mentioned I was leaving it late for a pick – but you never know,” said Warren with a laugh.
His quality of ball-striking has improved, he feels, since joining the Pete Cowen stable at Rotherham alongside current major championship winners Graeme McDowell and Louis Oosthuizen.
“It’s the best I have felt for two years,” he said. “Even the poor shots are finding the fairways and the greens and because of that my mind is clear and it’s easy to play golf.”
For the second day running, however, there was a late lapse. In the first round he missed a tap-in at the 17th and yesterday he three-putted the eighth (his second-last hole) for a bogey and missed a five-foot birdie chance at the last.
Gallacher put lessons learned from world No.4 Steve Stricker to good use. He played alongside Stricker in the final round of the US PGA Championship at Whistling Straits two weeks ago and while the American was not at his best, he still made it round in level par.
“He was brilliant,” recalled Gallacher. “These guys just seem to get everything out of their rounds all the time. Their short games are unbelievable. He could easily have shot five over par and that’s the difference.”
Gallacher had opened with a 67 in which he reckoned he hardly missed a shot. “Today I was more in the cabbage than on the fairway, but my short game was brilliant.
“That’s the only real secret to scoring, isn’t it? You’ve just got to get up and down when you hit a bad shot. It was a great two under and it keeps me in it,” he said.
His three birdies came from hitting irons stiff at the 14th and short sixth and then two-putting the long ninth, his last hole, where he reached the green in two.
While there was Scottish cheer at the top of the leaderboard, there was despair at the lower end. Only four out of more than 20 home players survived the halfway cut, the others being Steven O’Hara (70 for 140) and Paul Lawrie (73 for 142).
In the battle for the last two of the nine automatic Ryder Cup places, Swede Peter Hanson (eighth) and Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez (ninth) were hanging on gamely, both on six under.
Simon Dyson, who could move up, was also on the same score while Spaniard Alvaro Quiros has much work to do having only just made the cut on one under.
Italy’s Edoardo Molinari was another on six under. He cannot win an automatic team place to join his brother Francesco, but would make a compelling case for a wild card if he wins or comes close. He said: “I think the only thing in my favour is that Francesco is in the team and we play very well together.
“I hope Monty realises that and I promise that if he picks me I would not drop a point with Francesco.”
That’s quite a promise – four points in the bag straightaway.
