Well, it's a fun discussion to imagine various design and strategic iterations on Pebble's #18! It's all just interchangeable notes (features) anyway.
But basically following a common design principle it would seem prudent and best to feature the coastline (left side of the hole) as the ideal place for the golfer to try to get to to play the hole optimally. So since the coastline follows the entire hole on the left it would seem to make sense that the ideal opening to the green would be on the left, and that then logically the tee shot should be on the left if going in two and also the layup second shot should be well left too.
Having played this hole a few times I really don't remember that staying to the left of this hole all the way along makes all that much different though--probably because the angles are really not much at all. I do remember Woods hitting the green a few years ago (this was before everyone was doing it and before many ever had!) from just in the right fairway collar!
But probably the more meaningful strategies for those not going in two and laying-up for a 3rd shot approach is a clear choice of going well down the left side for a shorter shot in or laying back quite a bit on the right side. But what's the reason for the strategy of laying back quite a bit? Clearly it's to not get too close to that tree greenside right and get behind it with a difficult high trajectory shot and to not start to lose your angle on the green or the pin! Without that tree, there would be very little reason at all not to play the ball as far down the more conservative/less risky right side in two for a completely unencumbered 3rd shot in!
It's a bit of an architectural principle, although most definitely not followed all the time, to not load one side of a hole up with penal or dangerous design features. So a typical hole that followed that principle would have a fairway bunker right, a green opening right to force the player near the bunker for the optimal angle of approach and a bunker left of the green, for instance, for golfers who played more conservatively off the tee to the left to be more challenged on their approach by the greenside bunker left.
This then creates a bit of a "stagger" effect with the design features to be challenged but avoided for optimal angles and strategy. And with the primary hazard on the left and the green opening basically left too, the tree right greenside, at the very least, does create the "stagger" effect with this common design principle.
A redan green and an opening to it on the right and without a tree right would sort of weaken the function and usefulness of the naturally penal left side of the hole, at least in design and strategic theory it would!