Has anyone ever been a first alternate at a qualifying site? How does the process work? Will someone cancel and they will call me, or is it one of those go up the night before and hope people don't show up kind of a thing? This is driving me nuts.

There is no rhyme or reason here. Even if someone cancels, the person in charge may not call you because he/she is just plain lazy. I would call the person in charge and have a friendly conversation with him or her. Tell them how much this tournament means to you and how apreciate you are of thier organization. Then I would call the day before the tournament, then if you have time and no one has canceled, show up at the site and hope someone doesn't show. It doesn't guarantee that you will play but just increases your chances. You just have to be patient and hope for the best, good luck!!!!

Most State Golf Associations run pretty well organized state opens, so you could expect that if someone formally withdraws, you'll be notified that you are in. Either an official will contact you by phone to confirm, but almost always they'll notify you in writing at the address on your entry form.

I can easily see where State Opens would have a higher rate of withdrawals. People have work committments, unforseen family events etc that might make it a good shot for an alternate to know early, but you should plan for the meantime on showing up and being available at the first tee for at least a few hours to find out whether you can grab a last minute spot. It happens frequently enough that if you really want to play, it's probably worth it. I think last year the first and second alternates from local US Open qualifying got in at the Sectional event, but they had to show up ready to play on that day before they knew.

Two good pieces of advice in the first two posts. I'd say...

1) Stay in contact with the necessary people, so you find out if there is an early withdrawal.
2) If you're first alternate, show up the day of and warm up like you're in the first group.