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Food Blog

Food and Sports at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am: Part I

There were big fat checks for charity, beautiful people to oodle, celebs to stalk and Pebble February weather that's never been better.

But there's always that special something that can make a sparkling afternoon—like the one that carried yesterday's 2011 3M Charity Shoot-out—that much better.

Food.

It swooped upon us as it always does, from the bushes along the 17th fairway: Treats from the Pebble Beach banquet team lurking near the The Stillwater Grill (625-8524):

delicate and tender shrimp ceviche...

little apple and brie cheese tartlets...

Here Kelly Slater gets his "nom nom nom nom" on.

Now it's country star Clay Walker's turn. Somewhere an US Magazine intern is scrambling to put together a spread: Just like us, celebs like to eat!

Other things to like from the warm-up to the tournament proper, which started three and a half hours ago at Monterey Peninsula Country Club, Spyglass Hill and Pebble:

• The stash on this marshall.

• Kevin Costner cleaning up after his kid had a romp in the sand trap.

• Bill Murray attempting a Cinderella-story out from deep ivy and brush. Not so much.

• A scenic text message, from the 10-time surf champ, who told me last year the biggest off-board privilege his on-board exploits have earned him is a chance to play in the Pro-Am every year. I'll treat the best guess at what he's texting (use the comments bar below) to dinner.

• Murray's facial theater. At this point Murray, who was playing horribly and floundering around a sand trap on 18, said, "I just wish it would end."

• Anthony Anderson. Dude was a breakout hit. He gave away two golf clubs at the first tee to a pair of Army officers, who were there free on Military Day. When Michael Bolton lined up a putt for $19,000 for he and partner Clay Walker's charities, Anderson broke out into "When a man loves a woman..." at the top of his lungs, echoing Bolton's Grammy hit.

• Clutchness for good causes. Bolton stepped back, took a breath, then sunk it anyway.

• This Best and Worst Celebrity Golf Swings at 2011 Celebrity Shoot Out by new Weekly multimedia magician Joel Ede.