Ally Williams battled the extreme heat and humidity Tuesday in the second round of the Alabama Girls State Junior Championship. When the day was finished, she still found herself in the top five and within striking distance of the lead.

One day after shooting a 2-over-par 72, Williams, a rising senior at Athens High School, followed it up with a 6-over-par 76, dropping back from second place to fifth in the tournament, which is taking place at the Montgomery Country Club.

“It’s extremely hard,” Williams said of playing in the heat. “Today, I think they said it was going to feel like it was 109. My mom was handing me water every two holes, so I felt like I drank about 30 bottles out there today. I had a ton of towels, too.”

Course conditions, combined with the heat, are making for extremely difficult scoring conditions, as leader Carolina Waldrop, of Birmingham, is the only player at even par.

Huntsville’s Michaela Morard, who shot 21-under-par to win last week’s Women’s Stroke Play Championship at Canebrake Club in Athens, is in second place at 2-over-par, while Spanish Fort’s Lauren Gilchrist is in third place at 4-over and Newton’s Allison Howard is in fourth at 5-over. Williams is at 8-over, five shots ahead of sixth-place Emma Pittman, of Pike Road.

Williams said there are several precautions she takes while playing golf tournaments in the summer heat.

“I really have to try to keep my grips dry. That’s something I struggle with a lot,” she said. “Switching out gloves often and bringing the right gloves. I also have to wear the right clothes, nothing dark in the summer. I also have to put a lot of sunscreen on. A whole lot. It’s hard, but that’s how it is.”

Three bad holes on the back nine sunk Williams’ round, as she followed a birdie on 13 with a double bogey on 14 and bogeys on 15 and 16.

“There are a couple of tee shots that are really tough,” Williams said. “You have to place it in the right place, and have to miss it in the right place. It just wasn’t my day today.”

Despite the disappointing second round, Williams still has a very good chance to finish in the top five out of a field of 25 golfers, and get some more practice in for an even bigger round of golf, the qualifying tournament for the U.S. Girls Junior Championship, which will be played at Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach, California. The qualifying tournament consists of one round at the Montgomery Country Club, the same course where the Alabama Girls Junior State Championship is taking place.

“My goal (Wednesday) is to get some confidence for my U.S. Junior qualifier the next day,” Williams said. “It would be a really cool thing to qualify for, and I qualified for it last year. Getting into USGA (United States Golf Association) events are really hard, and my goal is to get into at least two. It’s really good that I’m getting to play four rounds, including the practice round, at this course to get familiar with it. Hopefully, that makes a difference.”