The PGA Tour is starting their 2026 season in Hawaii, but the cancellation of The Sentry for this upcoming season has some in golf concerned about the future of the Tour in the Aloha State.
The Sentry has been played at Kapalua Resort's Plantation Course since 1999, and The Sentry has been the title sponsor of the erstwhile Tournament of Champions since 2018.
The tournament started the PGA Tour season from 1986-2013. When the PGA Tour went to a wraparound season in 2014, it remained as the first event of the calendar year. In 2024, The Sentry once again began the season when the PGA Tour returned to a calendar-year schedule.
While Sentry Insurance has a sponsorship contract with the PGA Tour through 2035, it's unclear if the Tour will return to Kapalua in 2027 and beyond. The doubt is primarily related to the second event in the Aloha Swing, the Sony Open in Hawaii. The PGA Tour's contract with Sony runs through 2026, and it's unclear if an extension is in the works or if a new sponsor could come on board at a higher price tag to make the event a cash-flow positive tournament.
The Sony Open in Hawaii is the modern first full-field event on the schedule, with players flocking to Honolulu to begin the year at Waialae Country Club. However, if the PGA Tour can't identify a new sponsor or extend Sony as title sponsor, there may not be the same value to the PGA Tour in having a single event in Hawaii.
Both The Sentry and the Sony Open in Hawaii are cable-only events, with Golf Channel airing all four rounds of each event in primetime on the East Coast of the United States. The Hawaii views are a draw for golf fans, with many looking to mentally thaw out from the start of winter, and the courses are unique, contrasting tests compared to each other and the rest of the PGA Tour schedule.
However, new PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp has charged a committee headed by Tiger Woods to take a comprehensive look at the Tour's competitions and schedule. Ultimately, that could results in schedule consolidation and culling of events that just don't make sense for the Tour's new leader, its investors in Strategic Sports Group and for their partners. The end result could be a move out of Hawaii and into the West Coast to start the year as part of a smaller schedule.
In the push and pull of new leadership and investors with rank-and-file players that don't have easy access to the Tour's most lucrative events, Hawaii may be a sticking point for several reasons.
