June 4 (Bloomberg) -- Paula Creamer set her sights on birdies, not tweets, during the opening round of the LPGA State Farm Classic.

A week after LPGA Tour Commissioner Carolyn Bivens said she would “love it” if players used the social media site Twitter.com to connect with fans during their rounds, Creamer is one of the players who rejected the idea.

“I will not be twittering in my round,” Creamer, who’s ranked third in the world, wrote on her Twitter page shortly before teeing off. “It should not happen in any sport. The players have already told the tour no way.”

Tweets or not, Creamer wasn’t too pleased with her play after carding five birdies and double-bogey on the par-5 opening hole at Panther Creek Country Club. She’s tied for seventh, three shots behind leaders Jee Young Lee and Se Ri Pak.

“I shot 69 today with a double bogey,” she wrote after her round. “Not my best. I left a lot out there, however tomorrow is a new day.”

Anti-Twittering

Shortly before her anti-Twittering tweet, Creamer told her followers that she was “eating some pancakes for breakfast with my dad before we go out to the course.”

Morgan Pressel shared Creamer’s sentiments moments before beginning her first round in Springfield, Illinois.

“Thanks for the luck and NO I will not be tweeting when I play,” she wrote.

After matching Creamer with a 3-under round, Pressel wrote “played well today. Hit 14 fwys and 18 greens. Had two three putts and 5 birdies, and just missed a bunch more.”

A day earlier, Pressel tweeted about how many personalized license plates there seemed to be in the tournament’s host city and lamented having to attend a player meeting on Tuesday night, interrupting her viewing of Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final between her beloved Detroit Red Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Bivens said in an interview last week that she “encourages” players to use handheld devices to post content on social-media Web sites such as Twitter or Facebook during tournaments, even if it runs counter to golf etiquette.

Engage Prospective Fans

Her comments created a debate among golf fans, players and sports talk show hosts. And after receiving numerous comments and questions from a variety of players, Bivens clarified her stance on the subject today.

“While the LPGA does not support, nor has it ever encouraged, any kind of interaction with social media during tournament play, we do believe social media is as important to golf as it is to all sports,” Bivens said in a statement. “Our common challenge across sports is to leverage social media to engage current and prospective fans, turning them into more avid fans and loyal advocates.”

About 30 LPGA players use Twitter, including 21-year-old Pressel, 25-year-old Christina Kim and 26-year-old Natalie Gulbis, who also used her Facebook page and an Internet blog to connect with fans while on “The Apprentice” reality television show last season.

The use of social-media sites by athletes during professional sports events led to controversy in March, when Milwaukee Bucks forward Charlie Villanueva used Twitter during halftime of a National Basketball Association win over the Boston Celtics. While Villanueva finished with a team-high 19 points, Bucks coach Scott Skiles said it was “nothing we ever want to happen again.”

San Francisco-based Twitter Inc. provides a real-time service through which users exchange 140-character updates, or Tweets. A Twitter message with the “@” sign before a user name is regarded as addressed to the person who uses that name.

To contact the reporters on this story: Michael Buteau in Atlanta at mbuteau@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 4, 2009 22:54 EDT