London - Jamie Donaldson warmed up for next week's Ryder Cup by shooting a second-round 67 to finish four shots behind leader Shane Lowry in the Wales Open at Celtic Manor on Friday.
Welshman Donaldson was three strokes ahead of his Ryder Cup team mate Thomas Bjorn of Denmark and five clear of England's Lee Westwood, who shot a 69 after a disappointing opening 73 to make the cut.
"I needed a couple more rounds," Westwood told the European Tour website.
"I was not particularly competitive yesterday, it was pretty scratchy, but today was more solid. A few iffy shots but it was nice to finish with two birdies in the last four holes to ensure being here for the weekend and two more competitive rounds."
Scotland's Stephen Gallacher missed out on the weekend, however, as a solid 70 failed to repair the damage of a dismal first-round 78 and he will have an extra two days practice before making his Ryder Cup debut at Gleneagles.
"Yesterday was quite tough," Gallacher said after a round containing two birdies and one bogey.
"It was tough to get going and get my head around it but today was a lot better. I was maybe trying a wee bit too hard yesterday.
"I feel good, I'm physically and mentally good so I am really looking forward to next week."
Ireland's Lowry shot a sparkling 65 to lead the field by one shot from Dutchman Joost Luiten and Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts, a hero of Europe's victory over the United States in the 2012 Ryder Cup.
Leading and selected second round scores in the Wales Open at the
Celtic Manor Resort on Friday (GBR and IRL unless stated, par 71):
133 - Shane Lowry 68 65
134 - Joost Luiten (NED) 65 69, Nicolas Colsaerts (BEL) 66 68
135 - Edoardo Molinari (ITA) 72 63, Thongchai Jaidee (THA) 68 67
136 - Patrik Sjoland (SWE) 69 67, Tommy Fleetwood 68 68, Ricardo Santos (POR) 68 68, Gregory Havret (FRA) 69 67
137 - Marc Warren 70 67, Jamie Donaldson 70 67, Phillip Price 71 66
138 - Robert Rock 67 71, Mark Foster 69 69, Bernd Wiesberger (AUT) 71 67
139 - Robert Jan Derksen (NED) 73 66, Lucas Bjerregaard (DEN) 71 68, Peter Uihlein (USA) 71 68, Richie Ramsay 69 70, Danny Willett 72 67, Adrian Otaegui (ESP) 70 69
140 - Kim Sihwan (KOR) 70 70, Soren Kjeldsen (DEN) 69 71, Graeme Storm 71 69, Simon Wakefield 68 72, Joachim B Hansen (DEN) 69 71, Anthony Wall 69 71, Andrew McArthur 66 74, Thomas Bjorn (DEN) 71 69, Simon Thornton 71 69, Craig Lee 68 72, Steve Webster 68 72, John Hahn (USA) 70 70, James Morrison 71 69, Seve Benson 71 69, Paul Casey 70 70, Andy Sullivan 74 66, Nathan Holman (AUS) 70 70, Thomas Pieters (BEL) 72 68
Selected:
141 - Gaganjeet Bhullar (IND) 71 70, Wade Ormsby (AUS) 70 71, Nacho Elvira (Spa) 71 70, Bradley Dredge 71 70
142 - Lee Westwood 73 69
Missed cut:
144 - James Kingston (RSA) 73 71
145 - Daniel Gaunt (AUS) 70 75, Justin Walters (RSA) 67 78
146 - Hirofumi Miyase (JPN) 72 74, Lam Shiqun (SIN) 72 74,
147 - Jeev Milkha Singh (IND) 72 75
148 - Stephen Gallacher 78 70
149 - Brett Rumford (AUS) 71 78
152 - Darren Fichardt (RSA) 74 78
156 - Jeong Jin (KOR) 78 78
158 - Jose-Maria Olazabal (ESP) 82 76