Even if you locked yourself in a bathysphere at the bottom of the River Usk here in Newport, you'd still not be able to escape the Ryder Cup.

It's the talk of whatever the Welsh equivalent of the steamie is.

There is a golf tournament going on down here, of course, and Marc Warren hoisted himself into the halfway hunt with a purposeful second round in the ISPS Handa Wales Open at a dull and damp Celtic Manor.

His four-under 67, aided by a late thrust on his closing stretch, moved him on to a five-under aggregate of 137 and left him four shots behind new leader Shane Lowry. The Irishman assumed command with a six-birdie 65 for a nine-under 133, a stroke clear of Nicolas Colsaerts and Joost Luiten.

Warren will be at Gleneagles next week, enjoying the wining and dining of a bit of corporate hospitality and giving his boisterous backing to compatriot Stephen Gallacher as Europe and the USA cross swords in the 40th Ryder Cup. He'll be peering on from the sidelines then but the 33-year-old still has ambitions of being involved inside the ropes in the future.

Having ended his seven-year title drought on the European Tour last month with victory in Denmark, Warren has been galvanised. A share of 15th in August's US PGA Championship also provided further evidence that he is making strides on the global stage. It all arrived too late to make a push for serious Ryder Cup consideration this year but the former Walker Cup man has his eyes on Hazeltine in 2016.

"I think everything I'm doing is going in the right direction," said an upbeat Warren. "I'm moving up world rankings, the Race to Dubai, all that sort of stuff. If it keeps going that way then the Ryder Cup is a realistic goal. I was kind of half mentioned, I suppose, for this one going into the last few weeks after winning in Denmark. But it would have taken something special and, in my own mind, it was never going to happen. Even if I'd won in Italy (the last counting event) I was convinced I wouldn't get a pick, so it wasn't in my thinking. From a Scottish point of view, though, I'm absolutely delighted to see one of my friends, Stevie, do really well. I'm sure he'll get the wildest reception on the tee."

Starting on the 11th tee, Warren's round came near its end. A two-putt from 60 feet on the short third after a poor tee shot salvaged his par and he then he dinked a 9-iron into three feet on the next to set up a birdie.

"I just got some momentum going on those holes," said Warren, who picked up further strokes at the fifth, ninth and tenth as he finished with a flourish. Warren found himself in a share of ninth with Jamie Donaldson, the Welshman who continued his Ryder Cup limbering up process with a tidy 67.

Lee Westwood, another man bound for Gleneagles, showed encouraging signs that he was shaking off some of the rust with a spirited 69 that got him to the safe side of the cut mark. The former world No.1 had been flirting with an early exit but picked up birdies at 15 and 18 in a strong finish to move up with a 142. "I'm not quite match fit and I wasn't competitive in the first round; it was scratchy" he said. "It was important to be here for the weekend and get two more competitive rounds."

Gallacher was always facing an uphill struggle to make the cut having opened with a 78 but Scotland's golfing man of the moment got back in something resembling the swing with a one-under 70. He was heading up the road last night and will travel on to Gleneagles on Monday for a leisurely nine holes as he eases himself in to the biggest week of his career.

"I don't want to do too much as it will be a long week and the key is to relax," said Gallacher. The golf writers wheezed in agreement.