LITTLE ROCK — Staying cool par for day
It’s been nearly impossible to walk anywhere outside at Pinnacle Golf Course in Rogers this week without working up a dripping sweat.
NW Arkansas Championship tournament officials have concentrated on combating the heat throughout the week as temperatures in Rogers reached as high as 102 degrees Wednesday and Thursday, 100 degrees Friday and 98 by 5 p.m. Saturday.
It doesn’t take long for most people to reach their limits in such oppressive heat, so fans were treated to free bottled water throughout the course, several large air-conditioned tents, shade zones near most of the holes, special cooling towels and a sunscreen station at the driving range.
“We were out here at about 9:30 walking around with Michelle Wie’s group for a couple of hours,” said Dennis Myers of Jefferson City, Mo. “It was extremely hot, so we decided to make our way to the Malibu tent. It has a really nice breeze there, plenty to drink and it’s the way to watch golf.”
Most of the players are accustomed to competing in severe heat during the summer months, although not quite to this extent.
Ryann O’Toole of Los Angeles said she takes special supplements to maintain her energy levels during the summer months.
“I take these things called highlights, which are legal,” said O’Toole, who shot a 3-under-par 68 both Friday and Saturday. “They’re just electrolytes that you take in pill form, so they really help to hydrate you.”
Stacy Lewis (Arkansas Razorbacks) also had a strong day Saturday, shooting a 2-under 69 to move to 3 under for the tournament, 8 shots behind the leader, Veronica Felibert.
Travis Wilson, Lewis’ caddie, did all he could to prepare Lewis for the conditions.
“You’ve got to hydrate the night before and then come out and keep pushing the fluid,” Wilson said. “You have to find shade wherever you can and keep cool however you can.”
Some 700 volunteers have roamed the course throughout the week, and tournament chairman Jay Allen said one of his primary concerns was keeping them cool and alert.
“There were several hundred out there on the course at any given time, and some of those were in remote locations,” Allen said. “One of the biggest challenges was to make sure our volunteers were constantly monitored.”
Mike Cerasale, of the Rogers fire department, said there had been only one reported case of heat exhaustion at Pinnacle as of Saturday afternoon.
Pillers forge ahead
Gerina Piller of Plano, Texas, ranks sixth on the LPGA Tour with an average driving distance of 270 yards, but Piller used her precision game to shoot one of Saturday’s best rounds.
Piller shot a 4-under-par 67 Saturday to move into contention at 5 under.
Piller said she has rarely used a driver this week.
“Out here you’ve just got to put it in play and get a good line in the fairway,” said Piller, who is 49th on the tour money list at $103,384.
“The fairways are perfect.
They’re like carpet. The course is really pure, so with my length I don’t have to hit driver. I can hit hybrid or 3-wood and still have a mid iron, so that’s an advantage.”
Piller, 27, is not the only member of her family having a good week on tour. Her husband, Martin Piller, shot a 3-under 69 today at the PGA Web.com (formerly Nationwide) Tour’s United Leasing Championship in Newburgh, Ind., to move into a second-place tie, two strokes off the lead.
Maude-Aimee Leblanc, who leads the LPGA Tour with an average driving distance of 282 yards, shot a 1-under 70 Saturday and is at 1 over for the tournament.
Power couple
Amanda Blumenherst of Scottsdale, Ariz., has plenty to fall back on when she decides to leave the LPGA Tour.
Blumenherst, who shot a 4-over-par 75 Saturday to miss the cut at 6 over, graduated magna cum laude from Duke with degrees in history and English two years ago.
Nate Freiman, Blumenherst’s fiance, is a Class AA minor-league baseball player with the San Antonio Missions.
Freiman, a 6-7 first baseman, is second in the Texas League this year with 16 home runs and leads the league with 63 RBI. He also won the home run derby at this year’s Texas League All-Star Game.
By the numbers
+1 The 36-hole cut +5 Score after two rounds of world No. 1 Yani Tseng, the two-time defending champion 26 Consecutive events in which Tseng had made the cut before Saturday 62 Course record, set in 2008 by Jane Park and Angela Park 63 Best round Saturday, shot by Brittany Lang
Overheard
“I really wanted to win it for three-peat. It’s disappointing to not come close to making the cut.” - Two-time defending champion Yani Tseng, who missed the 36-hole cut
Sports, Pages 29 on 07/01/2012