The star-studded cast of veteran golfers who entered the 2002 U.S. Senior Open shared a singular motivation. All of them hoped to get hot this week at Caves Valley Golf Club.

The star-studded cast of medical professionals who volunteered to work the tournament this week also came with a common goal - to make sure that the 50-and-over golfers, their caddies and their fans do not get too hot walking the course in Baltimore's signature steamy weather.

Everyone got a break yesterday in Owings Mills, as a cool breeze made the high-80s temperatures much more bearable, but the practice days early in the week and the first two rounds of play were conducted in very hot, very humid conditions.

"They estimate that you have to walk nearly six miles to walk this course," said Johns Hopkins cardiologist Dr. Roger Blumenthal, who recruited and coordinates the tournament staff of 70 area doctors and 50 nurses. "With the golfers ranging from 50 to 75 years old and with the heat we had earlier in the week, it's a tremendous stress test."

There have been surprisingly few complaints from the contestants, though the U.S. Senior Open is one of the few senior events that does not allow the use of golf carts. The only transportation allowed is between the ninth green and 10th tee.

Arnold Palmer, who at 72 is one of the older competitors and did not make the cut for the weekend, was bathed in sweat as he battled through the first two rounds, but he said that the oppressive weather was not a major factor.

"I'm not complaining about it," he quipped after shooting 82 on Thursday. "It's you young people who have to worry about that."

But Tom Kite, who played consistently through the early rounds to stay near the top of the leader board going into today's final 18 holes, said Friday that the tournament might come down to the survival of the fittest.

"I don't think there's any question, especially if the heat builds back up like it was early in the week," Kite said. "It [being in shape] is going to pay huge dividends. This is a big golf course - it's a very hilly golf course - and there are some tremendous distances and difficult walks between holes."

The heat eased enough early yesterday to reduce the need for drinking water on the course by more than 50 percent, but the medical staff remained vigilant as temperatures rose again in the afternoon.

"The golf course is the fifth most common place for sudden cardiac death," Blumenthal said. "You're doing an activity for about five hours in hot weather. We have three EMT [emergency medical technician] groups here and three medical tents throughout the course."

So far, so good. During the hottest part of the week, doctors sent five fans to area hospitals, but all were released within a few hours. Three caddies and one golfer have been treated by doctors on the course, but none for a serious problem.

"The first three days were unbelievably humid," said Caves Valley director of golf Dennis Satyshur. "We had a couple of cases, but not as many as you might expect. The combination of the heat and the walk certainly had us concerned."

The tournament organizers could not have asked for a better team of medical professionals to assure the safety of the participants and the large gallery.

"These are specialists from the No. 1 hospital in the world as well as doctors from the other great hospitals in this area," Satyshur said. "I think the talent assembled medically is unbelievable. We hope nothing happens, but our fans should feel good that whether someone should sprain an ankle or whatever, we have the right people here to help."