Ahmedabad, Dec 3 (NationPress) Gaganjeet Bhullar, making his return to competitive action, displayed his exceptional skill by sinking four birdies in the last eight holes of the second round. This impressive performance propelled him 11 spots up the leaderboard to a tie for third, moving from tied-14th overnight at the IGPL Invitational in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.

After finishing the first round at 1-under, Bhullar delivered a remarkable 5-under round, with six birdies and just one bogey, bringing his total to 6-under with one round remaining. Notably, he made a hole-in-one in the first round.

Bhullar is now on the hunt for the international contenders, Indian American Manav Shah (67), who played without a bogey, and Mexican Santiago de la Fuentes (70). Both are currently at 7-under, just one stroke ahead of Bhullar.

If either Shah or Fuentes clinches the victory, they will mark the first international win in the debut season of the IGPL Tour.

As India's most successful player on the Asian Tour, Bhullar aims to secure his third consecutive win on the IGPL Tour, having triumphed in the first two events of the season held in Chandigarh and Jaypee Greens. After those victories, he opted out of the next six events to participate in International Series tournaments and manage personal commitments.

A win on Thursday would make him the first player to achieve three victories on the IGPL Tour. Apart from Bhullar, Aman Ran is the only other player with two wins on the tour.

Bhullar shares third place with rising star Raghav Chugh (68), who is also at 6-under after two rounds. Chugh struggled initially at 2-over after five holes but made a comeback with an eagle on the Par-4 sixth followed by birdies on the eighth and three more on the back nine.

Shah, a past champion on the PGA Tour of Latin America, recorded one birdie on the front nine and added four more on the back nine, maintaining a clean scorecard.

Fuentes, a former champion of the Latin American Amateur and experienced Major player, finished with a score of 70, including five birdies, two of which came on the 16th and 17th holes, alongside three bogeys.

While Bhullar, Shah, Chugh, and Fuentes enjoyed success in the second round, young Veer Ganapathy, who started strong with an 8-under on day one, fell to 3-over on the second day and is now tied for fifth with a total of 5-under. Ganapathy shares this position with Karandeep Kochhar (69). Other competitors include Varun Chopra (68), Kartik Singh (70), and Justin Quiban (70), all tied for seventh, while the legendary SSP Chawrasia (72) and Sachin Baisoya (73) complete the Top-10 at 3-under.

IGPL Pune champion Kapil Kumar (73) is currently in 12th place with a total of 2-under. The top female competitor is Ridhima Dilawari (72), sitting at 1-under and tied for 13th overall, alongside M Dharma (71), Aalaap IL (73), and Yashas Chandra (73). Aman Raj, leading the IGPL Order of Merit, is tied for 17th with Pukhraj Singh Gill, both at even par after two rounds, along with Saarthak Chibber.