Ahmedabad, Dec 3 (LatestNewsX) – Gaganjeet Bhullar returned to form by making a run of four birdies over the last eight holes of his second round, catapulting him from a tie‑14th overnight to a tie‑third place at the IGPL Invitational Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
Bhullar, who finished 1‑under in round one, shot 5‑under in round two with six birdies and a single bogey. That brought his total to 6‑under with just one round left. Notably, he had already hit a hole‑in‑one in the opening round.
He’s currently chasing the international pair of Indian‑American Manav Shah (score 67) and Mexican Santiago de la Fuentes (score 70). Both stand at 7‑under, one point ahead of Bhullar.
A win for either Shah or Fuentes would mark the first international victory in the inaugural IGPL Tour season.
Bhullar, India’s most successful Asian Tour player, is aiming for three wins in three events on the IGPL Tour after claiming victories at the season’s first two tournaments in Chandigarh and Jaypee Greens. He then took a break from the next six events to compete in International Series tournaments and to address family matters.
Securing a Thursday win would make him the first player to notch three victories on the IGPL Tour. The only other golfer with two wins on the circuit is Aman Ran.
Bhullar was sharing the tie‑third spot with rookie professional Raghav Chugh (score 68) – both at 6‑under after two days. Chugh started sluggishly, 2‑over on the first five holes, but an eagle on the sixth (a Par‑4) sparked his comeback. He then birdied the eighth and recorded three additional birdies over the back nine.
Shah, a former champion on the PGA Tour of Latin America, added one birdie on the front eight and four more on the back stretch without a single bogey.
Fuentes, a former Latin American Amateur champion who has played majors, finished with a 70, featuring five birdies—including back‑to‑back birdies on the 16th and 17th—against three bogeys.
While Bhullar, Shah, Chugh, and Fuentes excelled in round two, fresh talent Veer Ganapathy, who was 8‑under on day one, fell to 3‑over on the second day, now sitting tied‑fifth at 5‑under. Ganapathy shares that spot with Karandeep Kochhar (score 69) at 5‑under. Other Indian‑Americans Varun Chopra (score 68), Kartik Singh (score 70), and Filipino Justin Quiban (score 70) are tied in seventh place, while legends S.S.P. Chawrasia (score 72) and Sachin Baisoya (score 73) occupy the remaining top‑10 positions, both at 3‑under.
Kapil Kumar, the IGPL Pune champion (score 73), sits alone at 12th with a 2‑under total. The leading woman professional, Ridhima Dilawari (score 72), is 1‑under and tied for 13th overall. She shares her spot with M Dharma (score 71), Aalaap IL (score 73), and Yashas Chandra (score 73). Aman Raj, topping the IGPL Order of Merit, is tied for 17th with Pukhraj Singh Gill; both are at even par after two rounds, as is Saarthak Chibber.
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