Gaganjeet Bhullar took control of the Green Fuels Maritime Invitational 2026 presented by Vizag Dolphins GC, opening a six-shot lead after a weather-affected second round at East Point Golf Club.
Overnight rain delayed play by more than two hours and left several parts of the course unsuitable for competition. The tournament committee reduced the round to 14 holes, shortened some holes and set par at 50 to ensure fair playing conditions.
Bhullar adjusted quickest to the modified layout. Starting the day in a four-way tie at three-under, the 11-time Asian Tour winner made six birdies without dropping a shot to return a six-under 44.
His performance took him to nine-under through 32 holes, six clear of Sachin Baisoya, Tushar Pannu, Deepak Yadav and Ravi Kumar.
With distance offering less of an advantage on the shortened course, Bhullar altered his strategy and used his driver only once. Accurate approaches created a succession of scoring opportunities, and a run of four consecutive birdies helped him separate himself from the field.
The 38-year-old is chasing his second victory in successive starts following his triumph at the Krishna Invitational in Hyderabad. Another win would be his third of the season and sixth on the AM Green IGPL, extending his record as the circuit’s most successful player.
Baisoya and Pannu produced the strongest challenges from the chasing pack. Both began the round at one-over but shot four-under over 14 holes to climb eight positions and share second at three-under.
Yadav and Ravi, who had shared the opening-round lead with Bhullar, remained at three-under after level-par rounds.
Olympian Udayan Mane moved into sole sixth place at two-under after gaining two strokes on Wednesday. Arjun Prasad followed at one-under, having shot one-under during the shortened round.
M Dharma delivered another notable recovery, bouncing back from an opening four-over with a four-under score. He reached level par and joined Nayanika Sanga, Pukhraj Singh Gill, Raghav Chugh, Veer Ganapathy, Saarthak Chhibber and Harshjeet Singh Sethie in tied eighth.
Sanga, one-over for the round, remained the leading woman in the mixed field.
With better weather forecast for Thursday, organisers will hope to complete the championship as scheduled. Bhullar will begin the next round with a sizeable cushion and another IGPL milestone in sight.
Photo – IGPL
