"Their disqualification on the eve of the first women’s major of the year before the first official shot had been struck was another spoonful of bad publicity for the L.P.G.A. Tour."

I'm not sure I can buy that take from the New York Times' Karen Crouse regarding the disqualification of Helen Alfredsson, Maria Hjorth and Sangsang Feng from the Nabisco for missing their pro-am times. While Alfredsson's situation as an alternate does sound a bit more unusual, I don't see anything wrong with the LPGA's policy. In fact, it sounds like they make it a pretty simple set-up for alternates like Alfredsson.

On the L.P.G.A. Tour, the players are allowed to opt out of one pro-am a year. If a player who has agreed to appear fails to show up, she is withdrawn from the tournament.

The pro-ams are the bloodline of the tour, the primary source of sustenance for its sponsors. Most of the women accept that the outings are sacrosanct, even in weeks of majors where they can be a distraction.

“The pro-am is the most important day,” said Heather Bowie Young, who has served on the L.P.G.A. player executive committee, “because without Wednesday there is no Sunday.”

Bowie Young was an alternate for Wednesday’s pro-am. The players, she said, are given a two-hour window during which they must be prepared to step in for a pro who withdraws.

She was on the clock from 1:18 p.m. to 3:18 and spent the time on the practice green and at the range. Upon hearing that three pro-am groups had gone off without their pros, Bowie Young said she was surprised. “Because the rules are the same every week,” she said.