Golf World followed up yesterday by reporting that five of seven players on the LPGA board of directors would vote in favor of Bivens' termination, meaning it would need only two votes from the board's six independent directors (including Bivens) to remove her, even though her contract runs through the end of 2010.

Asked yesterday at Saucon Valley Country Club, the site of the Open, if she had signed the letter calling for Bivens' resignation, Kerr said she did not want to comment. She added, however, that the players were "all very unified in trying to make the tour better and looking at every possible opportunity from top to bottom."

At the start of her news conference, Kerr read a statement saying the LPGA was "very focused on how these difficult economic times affect our tour, and we are actively working with our executive board of management to create the best product for our partners and fans."

McDonald's ended its sponsorship of the LPGA Championship at Bulle Rock in Maryland last month after 16 years as a major, and 13 years before that as title sponsor of a regular tour event. The LPGA has yet to announce a new sponsor, site, or date for next year.

The LPGA Corning Classic was played in May for the last time because of the economic downturn. Last week's Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic may have had its final staging, and the Kapalua tournament scheduled for October in Hawaii pulled out because it had no title sponsor.

Bivens, who has been commissioner since September 2005, was not available for comment yesterday. David Higdon, the LPGA's chief communications officer, issued a statement saying the tour would not address the letter.

Higdon's statement said LPGA players, staff, and the board of directors were "all working very hard to achieve the same long-term objectives to grow our tour."

"It's not in the best interest of women's golf to openly discuss internal matters," he said, "but you can rest assured that the LPGA and its board of directors consider any topic raised by the players seriously . . . There are always differences of opinion on business matters, and as they arise, we resolve them as best we can in order to further the business of the LPGA."

The Golfweek and Golf World reports said players met last week at the Jamie Farr tournament in suburban Toledo and drafted the letter calling for Bivens' resignation. The letter was given to LPGA president Michelle Ellis, who turned it over to Dawn Hudson, the tour's chairman of the board.

Interviewed last month at the McDonald's LPGA, Higdon said the contracts of 18 events had expired this year and that the LPGA was confident that at least 14 of them would be renewed.

Bivens had hoped to re-sign deals for most of those events with a plan to increase costs to tournament operators.

However, sponsors and tournament organizers have balked at the higher fees, which they said diminish the contribution that can be made to charities. The tour had announced that it had suspended the implementation of a scoring system that would cost between $50,000 and $100,000 per tournament until 2011.

Veteran golfer Helen Alfredsson, a board member, said she did not know about the letter and cited the economic downturn as the main reason for the LPGA's problems.

Angela Stanford, a top-10 money winner this year said, "I have complete faith the board will do the right thing. I want what's best for the tour."