With the arrival of the U.S. Women's Open, which begins Thursday, this week was supposed to be a highlight of the year on the Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour. But instead of celebrating the field of talented international stars, led by the lithesome Mexican Lorena Ochoa, the LPGA finds itself enmeshed in controversy: An untold number of influential players have signed a letter calling for Tour Commissioner Carolyn Bivens to resign.

Although the timing of the unrest is surprising -- given the potential distraction it creates during the most prestigious event on the LPGA calendar -- the circumstances behind it are well known to followers of the tour. The LPGA is reeling in these tough financial times. Seven of its tournaments, including all three in Hawaii, have been canceled in the past two years due to a lack of corporate sponsorship. Six more are currently without sponsors and in danger of being lost.

A decade or two ago, the idea of drinking "vitamin water" would have conjured up thoughts of swallowing a metallic-tasting dietetic -- essentially, drinking your vegetables. That's a far cry from being a soft drink refreshing enough to appeal to athletes and hip enough for a rap star to endorse. Or successful enough for the Coca-Cola Co. (KO) to purchase the start-up that invented it for more than $4 billion.

Therein lies the astonishing success of Glacéau (a.k.a. Energy Brands), a company founded in 1996 by J. Darius Bikoff in Queens, New York. Bikoff began by selling an electrolyte-enhanced bottled water called Smartwater. Two years later, he introduced Fruitwater. But it wasn't until he launched Vitaminwater in 2000 that his enterprise really took off. Glacéau promptly became the best-selling brand of enhanced water in the U.S. By 2006, its revenue had reached a reported $355 million, and a year later Coca-Cola, seeking a larger stake in the noncarbonated-energy-drink segment, bought the company and announced that Glacéau would operate as an independent subsidiary.

Pizza and pasta: on the great laminated menu of American comfort foods, they rank just below cheeseburgers and a notch above burritos. No American restaurant chain may be more closely associated with red-sauce favorites than Sbarro. Based in Melville, New York, Sbarro has nearly 1,100 restaurants in 45 countries, But after decades of worldwide expansion, the company, founded by Italian immigrants in Brooklyn half a century ago, may have to cool its ovens for good.

Sbarro's fate is largely tethered to the success of shopping malls -- and the malls have been devastated by the economic downturn. Same-store sales in the nation's malls were down 6.5 percent for the year ended March 31, as budget-conscious consumers increasingly stayed home.

The anemic economy and companies' concerns about the public appearance of the gentleman's game have driven down demand this year for one of the most cherished corporate perks: a trip to the Masters.

For the millions of viewers in more than 180 countries who tune in to watch a resurgent Tiger Woods and the rest of the field tee off next Thursday in the tournament's opening round, nothing will seem amiss. The impossibly verdant grounds of Augusta National Golf Club are sure to be as lined by spectators as ever. "A tradition unlike any other," the CBS announcers will intone. But behind the scenes of golf's first major championship of the year -- and the only one of the four to be held at the same venue every year -- what is traditionally a week-long party in Augusta, Ga., is expected to be noticeably more subdued.