PGA Tour cancels Greenbrier Classic

Associated Press

BETHESDA, MD.

The PGA Tour canceled the Greenbrier Classic, scheduled for July 7-10, on Saturday because of devastating flooding in West Virginia.

The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs has been was inundated with floodwater after heavy storms rolled into the state Thursday. Tour officials say the Old White TPC, the host course, suffered extensive damage and “is beyond reasonable repair to conduct the tournament.”

PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said officials were heartbroken by the devastation in West Virginia and offered their thoughts and prayers.

“Canceling the Greenbrier Classic is certainly the most prudent course of action as our foremost concern is the well-being of those who are having to live through this tragic situation,” Finchem said.

Greenbrier County had 15 of the 23 deaths attributed to the flooding.

This is the first time a PGA Tour event has been washed out since the Viking Classic in Madison, Mississippi, in 2009. Unplayable conditions also led to the cancellation of the 1996 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

More than 150 players had committed to playing the Greenbrier. The PGA Tour is at Congressional this weekend for Tiger Woods’ Quicken Loans National, where the West Virginia floods are a topic of much conversation.

“I was saying on the range, and a lot of players (were saying) we’re not really worried about the golf tournament,” Erik Compton said. “We’re more worried about the community. First-most, you’ve got to get the community back. There’s plenty of time for golf.”

The Greenbrier was supposed to be the final chance to qualify for the British Open at Royal Troon on July 14-17, with one spot available to the highest finisher who was not already eligible. Andy Pazder, the tour’s chief of operations, said the Royal & Ancient Golf Club, which runs the British Open, was deciding what to do with that spot.

One possibility is to award it to the Barracuda Championship, to be played next week opposite the WGC-Bridgestone.

At the Greenbrier, owner Jim Justice said the focus is on helping the people of West Virginia.

“So many have lost loved ones, their homes, and have no place to go,” Justice said. “All of us are united with only one common goal: to help the people through this terrible time.”