When a tree falls at Pebble...

...it makes a resounding noise, what with the U.S. Open coming to the Pebble Beach Golf Links in 2010. The Monterey pine that was uprooted during a Monday storm that canceled the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am was part of a grove that protects the integrity of the hole, RJ Harper, senior vice president of golf, told the Monterey County Herald.

"The tree that was lost was not a singularly critical tree, but that grove is critical. We cannot afford to have any more trees coming out of there," Harper told the newspaper. "That grove protects the hole and keeps the integrity of the hole in place."

-- John Strege