PGA Tour cancels Greenbrier Classic amid West Virginia flood

“We know we will have the opportunity to return again next year and we look forward to that time”, Finchem said. CNN meteorologists said no more rain is expected until Monday.

More than 500 people were stranded and spent the night at the Elkview Crossings Mall, northeast of Charleston, because the roads leading there were among more than 60 washed out around the state. Other deaths were reported in Kanawha, Jackson and OH counties.

Greenbrier County was among 44 in West Virginia under a state of emergency.

Greenbrier County, where The Greenbrier Resort is located, has been particularly hard-hit by torrential rains.

Three emergency workers were injured during a water rescue in Alleghany County, officials said. The department also said almost 30,000 homes were still without power.

The West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management confirmed Friday night there were 23 confirmed fatalities from the flooding.

The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs has been was inundated with floodwater after heavy storms rolled into the state Thursday. “Some houses are totally gone”, Agner told CNN.

Weather radar estimates show that more than 10 inches of rain have fallen in portions of Greenbrier County. The river rose more than 27 feet from Thursday afternoon to Friday morning, the highest crest since record-keeping began more than 125 years ago, according to the National Weather Service.

Also, the PGA Tour says the Greenbrier Classic scheduled for next month has been canceled.

The PGA announced Saturday that the tournament is canceled because the course was badly damaged.

As a deluge swamped southeast West Virginia – a disaster that killed at least 20 people – Ronnie Scott’s wife called him and told him their house was filling up with water.

The 861st Engineer Support Company was in West Virginia already for annual training and 81 of its soldiers are now assisting the West Virginia Army National Guard with repairing roads and clearing debris, in tandem with the 111th Engineer Brigade.

“We are heartbroken by the devastation that the residents of West Virginia are experiencing at this time and the reports of lives lost due to the awful flooding”, said PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem.

Professional golfer Bubba Watson was apparently visiting the resort and tweeted photos of entire holes underwater: “Prayers for @The_Greenbrier & surrounding areas”.

Jim Justice, owner of The Greenbrier Resort, said: “All of our focus needs to be on helping all of the people of our great State”.