2025 IGPL Tour: Bhullar shows class, rises to third in Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad, Dec 3 (IANS) Gaganjeet Bhullar, coming back to action, showed his class as he fired four birdies in his last eight holes of the second round to jump 11 places to tied-third from tied-14th overnight at the IGPL Invitational Ahmedabad on Wednesday. 

Bhullar, who was 1-under for the first round, carded 5-under with six birdies against one bogey to shoot 5-under and rise to 6-under with one round to go. In the first round, Bhullar had a hole-in-one.

Bhullar is chasing the international duo of Indian American Manav Shah (67), who had a bogey-free round, and Mexican Santiago de la Fuentes (70). They are now 7-under and one ahead of Bhullar.

If either Shah or Fuentes wins, they will become the first internationals to score a win in the inaugural season of the IGPL Tour.

Bhullar, India’s winningest player on the Asian Tour, is bidding to make it three in three on the IGPL Tour after having won the first two IGPL events of the season in Chandigarh and Jaypee Greens. He then skipped the next six events to play International Series events and to attend to family matters.

A win on Thursday will make him the first player to grab three wins on the IGPL Tour. Apart from Bhullar, the only other player to win twice on the IGPL is Aman Ran.

Bhullar was tied third with young rookie pro Raghav Chugh (68), who is also at 6-under for two days. Chugh was 2-over in the first five holes, but an eagle on the Par-4 sixth saw him begin his rally. He birdied the eighth and then picked three more on the back nine.

Shah, a former winner on the PGA Tour of Latin America, had one birdie on the front nine and four more on the back stretch against no bogeys.

Mexican Fuentes, who is a former winner of the Latin American Amateur championships and has played Majors, shot 70. He had five birdies, including two on the 16th and the 17th, against three bogeys.

While Bhullar, Shah, Chugh, and Fuentes prospered in the second round, young Veer Ganapathy, who shot 8-under on the first day, dropped to 3-over for the second day and is now Tied-5th with 5-under total. Ganapathy is tied fifth with Karandeep Kochhar (69) at 5-under. Another Indian American, Varun Chopra (68), young Kartik Singh (70), and Filipino Justin Quiban (70) are tied seventh, while the legendary SSP Chawrasia (72) and Sachin Baisoya (73) round off the Top-10 and are both 3-under.

IGPL Pune winner, Kapil Kumar (73), at 2-under total is in sole 12th. The top woman pro was Ridhima Dilawari (72) at 1-under and was Tied-13th overall. She is tied with M Dharma (71), Aalaap IL (73), and Yashas Chandra (73). Aman Raj, who leads the IGPL Order of Merit, is tied 17th with Pukhraj Singh Gill, and both are even par for two rounds, as is Saarthak Chibber.

--IANS

hs/bsk/