2010 U.S. Open Third Question: Why The 2019 Announcement Now?

I know it was a week ago, but a lot of people are still scratching their heads over the USGA's decision to announce the execution of a "letter of intent" to return to Pebble Beach in 2019. The emails I've received have mostly focused on the oddity of committing so far in advance and most of all, somewhat rudely upstaging the 2017 Erin Hills announcement.

During the USGA press conference, Monterey County Herald writer Kevin Merfeld drew a few snickers from the assembled slingers for questioning the announcement's timing not once, but two times. After seeing the Pebble Beach Company's operation of the event (because the USGA defers to the company as part of the contract), it seems Merfeld was right to question why an agreement was reached and announced before the parties involved could determine who should be doing what come 2019.

Steve Elling touched on some of the issues regarding the announcement:

The Pebble Beach Company, which was intimately involved in last week's event, clearly dropped the ball in several areas, including supplying enough shuttle buses for fans, who reported waiting several hours to get back to their cars. The course is difficult to walk and the ninth green is about two miles from the clubhouse. Prices in the merchandise tent were an abomination, set by the Pebble Beach owners, and a simple golf cap cost $34. Apparently, sales slumped to about half the projected totals, a fate that was richly deserved. Hotels in the quaint seaside towns surrounding the course gouged guests like there was no tomorrow. And from the media standpoint, it was the worst setup ever. To interview players after they finished the 18th hole required a 25-minute roundtrip walk down a dirt cart path from the media center, which represented an impossible delay given the fact that the USGA pushed tee times into prime time on the weekend. The players aren't the only ones who left Pebble Beach on Sunday night feeling like they had been pillaged.

So for the life of me I can't figure out why this announcement benefits either side. Thoughts?