Other Tours

BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) -The dispute between a faction of LPGA players and the tour commissioner could be resolved this week, and the tour's Board of Directors will look for an interim replacement while searching for a new commissioner, tour veteran and board member Juli Inkster said Sunday.

Inkster, one of 10 LPGA player directors, was part of a players' meeting last week that penned a letter to the LPGA Tour's board calling for LPGA Tour commissioner Carolyn Bivens to resign.

``I expect it to be resolved this week and then move on,'' Inkster said Sunday after her final round of the U.S. Women's Open at Saucon Valley Country Club.

The New York Times, citing sources, has reported that Bivens will step down after the Open concludes. Golf Digest had previously reported that Bivens would be replaced, as soon as this week, and cited sources who said the letter from the players was the final blow.

``I think Carolyn has done a lot of great things for our tour and I think she worked really hard,'' Inkster said. ``But some of the things she tried just didn't work.

``Whether it's her fault or not, it just wasn't working.''

Golfweek Magazine first reported that more than a dozen key players signed a letter saying the tour's woes cannot be blamed on a poor economy and that the LPGA needs a new leader to rebuild relationships with sponsors.

The tour has lost seven tournaments since 2007, and there have been a number of controversies during Bivens' four-year tenure.

In 2008, she proposed an English-only policy for tour players, but it was never instituted. The LPGA includes 121 international players from 26 countries, including 45 from South Korea.

In October 2006, she was accused by officials of the now-defunct tour event near Atlantic City, N.J., of backing out on a promise to maintain a longtime event.