The PGA Tour canceled its season opener at The Sentry rather than find an alternative course in water-starved Kapalua, Maui, marking the first time a tournament has been canceled since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
The Sony Open in Honolulu will be held from January 15 to 18, the first event of 2026 and the latest year since the PGA Tour was founded in 1969.
The PGA Tour and Wisconsin-based Sentry Insurance had considered hosting $20 million signature events at other courses for PGA Tour winners and the top 50 FedExCup players. Instead, they choose not to play at all.
“I’m very proud of the growth of The Sentry; I don’t want ’26’ to get any smaller,” said Stephanie Smith, chief marketing and brand officer for The Sentry, who oversees the golf partnership that began in 2018. The sponsorship period will last until 2035.
“We don’t want it to be just ‘find a spot for it in the schedule,’ or ‘find a course for it that can host it.’ I want Sentry to continue to be a gem,” Smith said. “I want it to be special. When that didn’t come together, I felt like we had no choice.
“This is not the outcome we wanted, but unfortunately this is where we are now.”
Kapalua had to close its two courses on drought-stricken Maui — the Plantation Course has hosted a PGA Tour event since 1999 — because of strict water restrictions due to a dispute with the company responsible for the century-old water system.
The Sony Open is in the final year of its title sponsorship, leaving Hawaii’s place on the PGA Tour schedule in question after this year.
The tour announced the cancellation of Sentinel Field on the same day that Kapalua announced that Plantation Course will reopen on Nov. 10 and tee times can be reserved starting Thursday at a promotional price of $399. Reportedly, 2 of the 18 greens are still being repaired.
The Sentry event has been the first event on the PGA Tour every year since 1999, except in 2001, when the season was held in Australia and featured the World Golf Championships. Several players from the Kapalua circuit frequently travel to Oahu for the Sony Open.
Seven PGA Tour winners, including Aldrich Potgett and Min-woo Lee, did not finish in the top 50 in the FedEx Cup. It is said that to make up for their absence at Kapalua, they will join the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head one week after the Masters.
Tadashi Yanai, the Japanese billionaire owner of Kapalua and founder of clothing brand Uniqlo, Kapalua owners and Hua Momona Farms filed a lawsuit against Maui Land & Pineapple in August, accusing it of failing to maintain the water system.
The MLP filed a countersuit, and both sides have since blamed each other.
Hawaii’s Water Management Commissioner notified the MLP two weeks ago of the alleged water system violations, which could result in fines totaling up to $11 million. The MLP has until November 8 to respond.
Meanwhile, two courses at Kapalua turned from emerald green to yellow due to water restrictions, leading to a shutdown in September for at least two months to try to save them. The tour announced on September 16 that it would not be able to perform “The Sentinel” at Kapalua.
Smith did not say what other courses are being considered. A year ago, the Genesis Invitational had to be held from the Los Angeles Riviera due to deadly wildfires in the Pacific Palisades. This year, it moved to Torrey Pines, where all the infrastructure was still intact when it hosted the PGA Tour event three weeks ago.
“After evaluating alternative venues in Hawaii and beyond, the PGA Tour has determined that it will not be able to compete in the Sentinel Tournament in 2026 due to logistical challenges, including transportation deadlines, event infrastructure and vendor support,” the PGA Tour said in a statement.
The Sentinels have one of the longest title sponsorship deals with the Tour. Still to be determined is whether it will return to Kapalua in 2027, a year that is expected to see significant changes to the revised schedule.
Tiger Woods is leading a “Futures Competition Committee” to shape the tour. The committee is about to hold its first meeting.
When asked about The Sentry’s future on Maui in 2027, Smith said: “It’s hard to say at this point.”
“We are committed to being sentinels,” she said. “We know from conversations with the tour that Sentinel Field will be on the schedule. There are a lot of factors at play right now. What’s happening on the island? Will the water issues be resolved? Will the course still be playable? How about the lawsuit being resolved?
“We had a great conversation,” she said. “We are committed to playing Sentinels again at the same level as in the past.”
The Sony Open becomes the seventh event to start this year since the start of the tour.
