Kapalua Outside the PGA Tour: Drought Forces Schedule Changes

The PGA Tour Moves from Kapalua Due to Drought and Water Issues

The PGA Tour announced on Tuesday that it will leave the Kapalua Resort in Hawaii for its inaugural season event. The decision was made after determining that the course will not be ready to host The Sentry in January due to the drought and a water dispute that has left the golf course dry and brown due to lack of irrigation. Since 1999, the PGA Tour had inaugurated each year at the Plantation Course in Kapalua, with the exception of 2001, when the season began in Australia and then moved to Kapalua, in West Maui. It is still to be decided where or when The Sentry will be played, a featured event with a $20 million prize for all PGA Tour winners in 2025 and the top 50 in the FedEx Cup. It was scheduled to be held from January 8-11. This decision will not affect the Sony Open in Oahu, which will be played the following week. Brian Rolapp, CEO of PGA Tour Enterprises, spoke with Hawaii Governor Josh Green while consulting with Wisconsin-based Sentry Insurance, Kapalua Resort, and Maui County.

“The PGA Tour has determined that the 2026 The Sentry tournament will not be played at the Plantation Course in Kapalua due to continued drought conditions, water conservation requirements, agronomic conditions, and logistical challenges,” the tour stated in a statement.

The logistical aspects of the suppliers and the shipment of supplies to organize the tournament on an island in the middle of the Pacific were also considered. Maui has been dealing with drought conditions that have affected 140,000 residents, and water conservation mandates aim to prioritize the island’s needs.

“We support the PGA Tour’s decision, given the drought conditions facing Maui,” Green said in a statement. “Protecting our water and supporting our communities comes first. The Sentry has long showcased the beauty of Maui while giving back to local non-profits.”

Kapalua officials claim the tournament has an economic impact of $50 million in the area. Sentry, which has a main sponsorship agreement until 2035, approved the decision given the circumstances facing West Maui.

“As we have said for years, Maui is a Sentry community, just like our hometown of Stevens Point, Wisconsin, and that remains the case. Our communities are connected. We have built meaningful friendships throughout the island, and those relationships are more important than the tournament,” said Stephanie Smith, director of marketing and brand who oversees Sentry’s involvement in Kapalua.

In the center of the water dispute, there are accusations that Maui Land & Pineapple, which operates the century-old ditch system that provides irrigation water to Kapalua and its residents, has not made the necessary repairs, which has affected the water supply from the mountain. Tadashi Yanai, the Japanese billionaire owner of Kapalua and founder of the clothing brand Uniqlo, the homeowners of Kapalua and Hua Momona Farms filed a lawsuit on August 18 against MLP, alleging that it has not maintained the water supply system.

“That deterioration, not an act of God, nor the force of nature, nor anything else, is the reason why users who currently need it do not have water,” the lawsuit says.

MLP stated that it has carried out “certain repairs and improvements to the ditch system” as indicated by the Water Resources Management Commission and that all its actions are “consistent with the agreements between MLP and the golf courses”. The Kapalua Resort closed the Plantation on September 2 for two months in the hope of saving the golf course with the little irrigation allowed. However, there was a setback when the Hawaii Water Commissioner and MLP increased restrictions to ban all irrigation. Kapalua announced on Monday that the Bay Course would close indefinitely in an effort to divert the little irrigation it was allowed to use to save the Plantation. In recent weeks, both sides have traded accusations. MLP stated last week that Kapalua used more than 1 million gallons per day for two days, half the capacity of the wells, leading to stricter restrictions. TY Management, Yanai’s company, said that Kapalua’s irrigation has central control systems and that water use is science-based. A company spokesperson said that Kapalua has followed all mandates, even when MLP and the Hawaii Water Service unexpectedly imposed an irrigation ban while the course was preparing to take measures to save it. Kapalua has been part of the PGA Tour since 1982, when it hosted an unofficial event in November at the Bay Course and then at the Plantation after its opening in 1991. It was the first design by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. The PGA Tour Champions has a season-opening event on Big Island from January 23-25, while the LPGA usually visits Hawaiʻi in early October. The next step is to determine where or when the tournament will be played, especially with the Sony Open the following week. Before going to Kapalua in 1999, the tournament had been held for years at the La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, California. The PGA Tour has added Trump Doral near Miami to the 2026 schedule in April. A title sponsor for that tournament has not yet been announced.