If melting ice cream bars and sweat-soaked shirts weren't proof that Saturday's heat was taking its toll on Masters Tournament spectators, the half-dozen red-faced men and women seated in the first-aid center of the Augusta National Golf Club were.

The National Weather Service reported a high temperature of 86 degrees for the third round. And forecasters say it's going to get even hotter today, with temperatures expected to reach 90 degrees.

Spectators in search of shade and toting water bottles, golf umbrellas and sunscreen covered the course, including Celia Bazemore of York, Pa., and her father, Doug McLean of Dayton, Ohio.

Seated under the branches of a pine tree along the 18th fairway, the father-daughter team were taking a break after walking the course all morning.

``I had to decide between this,'' Bazemore said, pointing to her bright pink shorts outfit, ``and white, because it reflects the sun. But I figured I'd be hot no matter what, so I just wore this.''

An upper-level ridge of pressure, normally found in the western Atlantic, has centered over the Southeast, bringing a warm southwesterly flow of air and a sky full of cumulus clouds in from the Gulf of Mexico, said Jim Kilmer of the National Weather Service in Columbia.

``Anytime you get a nice big upper ridge like this, it's going to get hot,'' Kilmer said.

Weekend temperatures will average between 10 and 15 degrees above normal. Temperatures typically reach only about 75 degrees this time of year. Saturday's temperature was three degrees higher than the hottest day of last year's tournament - Monday, April 3 - and 20 degrees higher than the coolest tournament day in 2000 - Sunday, April 9.

Despite the unseasonable temperatures, humidity is staying within reasonable ranges, with Augusta recording 42 percent humidity Saturday evening.

The Augusta National was not releasing any information on the number of spectators who required medical attention because of heat, but an air-conditioned first-aid room at the course had several patrons seated inside, sipping water.

The last time temperatures exceeded 85 degrees in Augusta was Sept. 25, when thermometers at Augusta Regional Airport at Bush Field registered an 89, according to weather service records.

Kathryn Lowery of Birmingham, Ala., is accustomed to hot Southern weather, and she came prepared Saturday to battle the blazing sun with sunscreen, a sun hat and a plaid golf umbrella, which she says is her best defense against the heat.

``I'm an anti-sun person,'' she said. ``It really does help when I try to stay under the umbrella and in the shade.''