A storm ripping through the Monterey Peninsula early Saturday morning destroyed a large upscale hospitality structure, damaged some sky suites and tore apart the giant video screen along the 18th green at Pebble Beach Golf Links with the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am just a few days away.
The storm also knocked down a tree near the 17th tee.
“We got hit pretty hard,” said Steve John, the event’s CEO and tournament director. “The worst weather is behind us, I’m told, and, fortunately, nobody was hurt. The bottom line is everything is going to be rebuilt. We hope nobody’s going to notice anything happened by the time people arrive for the tournament.”
John said The View presented by Grey Goose, a 100-by-50 foot hospitality structure for upgraded tickets, was destroyed by winds that reached 78 mph.
“It was absolutely leveled,” John said. “An eight-inch steel beam was bent 45 degrees. It looked like a tornado came through, the way it hit that structure, but then left a concession tent standing that was just 50 feet away.”
Sky Suites along the 17th and 18th holes suffered minor damage.
John said the tree that was blown over at the 17th was already removed by Sunday. He said the Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill and Monterey Peninsula Country Club courses were not damaged, though trees on the periphery of those courses fell.
“What’s important is nobody was hurt and everything is going to be rebuilt,” John said. “That’s the bigger story, the resilience you’re seeing in the rebuilding.”
Source: Internet
