RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Sandra Gal estimates she drank a bottle of water every hole she played Friday in temperatures that reached 104 degrees at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, but she still battled a searing headache in the sun.
Gal, who won the Kia Classic bundled up in cool weather in Los Angeles last week, has struggled with headaches in the heat in the past. She shot 74 Friday, dropping six shots off the lead.
“It was a little bit of a struggle today, but I hung in there,” Gal said. “This hot weather was tough. I had a long week last week, and I think I got a little tired today.”
Caddies were once again allowed to remove their white bibs in the heat.
Poppie’s pond never looked more inviting alongside the 18th green.
“I would have liked to have jumped in that pond today,” Morgan Pressel said. “It would have been a nice cool off, but a couple days too early.
Temperatures are expected to cool with a high of 86 on Saturday, but the winds are forecast to pick up, blowing up to 14 mph. With the greens firm and fast, scoring should be difficult.