Ahmed, Bouvet in Hunt at PGA WORKS

Nebraska women’s golfers Noor Ahmed and Vanessa Bouvet remained in the hunt for top-five finishes through 36 holes at the PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship on Tuesday in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

Ahmed, a senior from Folsom, Calif., put together a strong round of 73 (+1) to climb into sole possession of fifth place among the 25 individuals in the field. Ahmed’s round included four birdies and nine pars around five bogeys on the 5,825-yard, par-72 layout at TPC Sawgrass. Ahmed heads to Wednesday’s final round at 152 (+8) through 36 holes.

Bouvet, a junior from Brunei, added a 76 (+4) on Tuesday to her opening-round 78 to move to the final round in sixth place at 154 (+10) just two shots back of Ahmed. Bouvet, who started the day in a tie for fourth, opened hot with three straight birdies and remained at three-under through five holes before running into trouble. She regrouped late in the round with birdies on two of the final five holes.

Phu Khine from UNC Wilmington charged to the top of the leader board with a five-under-par 67 to close the day at 142 (-2). She owns a five-stroke lead over Louisiana Monroe’s Jahaanvie Walia, who ended the day with a two-round total of 147 (+3) after a 73 on Tuesday. Missouri’s Jess Yuen, who sat in first place after an opening-round 74, added another 74 Tuesday and enters the final round at 148 (+4) in third. UALR’s Agatha Alesson is in fourth at 150, just two strokes ahead of Nebraska’s Ahmed.

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. 

Wednesday’s final 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.