Bouvet, Ahmed Contending at PGA WORKS

Nebraska women's golfers Vanessa Bouvet and Noor Ahmed finished the opening day among the top 10 on the leader board at the PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship on Monday in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

Bouvet, a junior from Brunei, carded a first-round 78 (+6) to enter Tuesday's second round in a tie for fourth among the 26 individuals in the field. Ahmed (Folsom, Calif.) added an opening-round 79 (+7) in the first round to sit in a tie for seventh through the first 18 holes on the 5,825-yard layout at TPC Sawgrass.

Missouri's Jess Yuen and Louisiana Monroe's Jahaanvie Walia posted Monday's top scores with two-over-par rounds of 74. Phu Khine from UNC Wilmington sits in third at 75 (+3), just ahead of Bouvet.

On Monday, the PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship announced that the top-five finishers, including ties, will be eligible for a Symetra Tour MVP Invite into the Guardian Championship at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club at Capitol Hill in Prattville, Ala., Sept. 17-19. 

Tuesday's second round will begin with tee times starting at 6:45 a.m. (CT) with live scoring from BirdieFire.com. Ahmed is scheduled to tee off at 6:56, while Bouvet is set for a 7:07 a.m. (CT) start.

The individual division of the PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship is open to all eligible student-athletes on the current roster of their college team or students participating in Professional Golf Management programs who come from diverse ethnic backgrounds.

PGA WORKS is a strategic initiative designed to diversify the golf industry's workforce. Funded by PGA REACH, the 501(c)(3) charitable foundation of the PGA of America, PGA WORKS leverages fellowships, scholarships, career exploration events, and the PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship to inspire and engage talent from diverse backgrounds to pursue key employment positions across the golf industry.