The PGA Tour is canceling its season opener at The Sentry instead of finding a replacement course for water-starved Kapalua on Maui, the first time a tournament has been canceled since the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
The Sony Open in Honolulu will be the first tournament of 2026 from January 15 to 18, the last start of the year since the creation of the PGA Tour in 1969.
The tour and Wisconsin-based Sentry Insurance had considered other courses to host the $20 million flagship event for PGA Tour winners and those in the top 50 of the FedEx Cup. Instead, they chose not to play it at all.
“I’m really proud of what The Sentry has become; I didn’t want ’26 to be anything less,” said Stephanie Smith, director of marketing and branding at Sentry, who oversees the golf partnership that began in 2018. The sponsorship will continue through 2035.
“We didn’t want it to just be ‘Find him a place on the calendar’ or ‘Find him a class that could accommodate him.’ I wanted Sentry to remain the gem that it is,” Smith said. “I wanted it to be special. When that didn’t happen, I felt like we had no choice.
“It’s not the outcome we wanted, but unfortunately that’s where we are.”
Kapalua had to close its two courses on drought-stricken Maui – the Plantation course has hosted the PGA Tour since 1999 – due to severe water restrictions caused by a dispute with the company in charge of a century-old water system.
The Sony Open is in its final year of title sponsorship, leaving Hawaii’s place on the PGA Tour schedule after this year uncertain.
The tour announced the cancellation of The Sentry the same day. Kapalua announced that the Plantation course will reopen on Nov. 10 and tee times can be reserved beginning Thursday at a promotional rate of $399. He said two of the 18 greens were still being restored.
The Sentry is the PGA Tour’s premier annual event since 1999, except in 2001, when the season began in Australia with a World Golf Championship. Several Kapalua players often traveled to Oahu for the Sony Open.
Seven PGA Tour winners, including Aldrich Potgieter and Min Woo Lee, have failed to finish in the top 50 in the FedEx Cup. The tour should make up for the lack of a spot at Kapalua, they will be added to the field at the RBC Heritage on Hilton Head the week after the Masters.
Tadashi Yanai, the Japanese billionaire owner of Kapalua and founder of clothing brand Uniqlo, the owners of Kapalua and Hua Momona Farms, filed a lawsuit in August against Maui Land & Pineapple, alleging the company failed to maintain the water system.
The MLP filed a countersuit and the two sides have since exchanged accusations.
Hawaii’s Water Resources Management Commissioner notified MLP two weeks ago of alleged water system violations, with fines potentially totaling $11 million. MLP has until November 8 to respond.
Meanwhile, both Kapalua courses went from emerald green to yellow with the water restrictions, leading to a September closure for at least two months to try to save them. The tour announced on September 16 that it would not be able to play The Sentry in Kapalua.
Smith did not say what other courses were being considered. A year ago, the Genesis Invitational had to leave the Riviera for Los Angeles due to deadly wildfires in Pacific Palisades. It moved this year to Torrey Pines, which still had all of its infrastructure after hosting a PGA Tour event three weeks earlier.
“After evaluating other venues in Hawaii and beyond, the tour has determined that it will not be able to play The Sentry in 2026 due to logistical challenges, including shipping times, tournament infrastructure and vendor support,” the tour said in a statement.
The Sentry has one of the longest title sponsorship deals with the tour. It remains to be seen whether he will return to Kapalua in 2027, a year in which significant changes are expected following a revamped schedule.
Tiger Woods leads a “futures competition committee” to shape the tour. This committee is about to meet for the first time.
Asked about the Sentry’s future on Maui in 2027, Smith said, “It’s hard to say at this point.”
“We are committed to playing The Sentry,” she said. “We know from our conversations with the tour that The Sentry will be on the schedule. There are so many factors at play right now. What’s going on on the island? Will the water issue be resolved? Will the course be playable? What about the lawsuits that are being resolved?
“We had some good conversations,” she said. “We are determined to play The Sentry again at the level we have in the past.”
The Sony Open becomes the seventh tournament to start the year since the tour began.
