The PGA Tour Cancels The Sentry in 2026
The PGA Tour has announced the cancellation of its inaugural tournament, The Sentry, scheduled to open the season. This decision was made instead of seeking an alternative course for the event in Kapalua, Maui, due to water scarcity in the region. This is the first time a tournament has been canceled since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The Sony Open in Honolulu will become the first tournament of 2026, taking place from January 15 to 18. This date marks the latest start to a season since the PGA Tour was established in 1969. The PGA Tour and Wisconsin-based Sentry Insurance had considered other courses to host the event, which has a $20 million prize purse and is aimed at PGA Tour winners and the top 50 in the FedEx Cup. However, they chose not to hold the tournament.Smith, who oversees the golf association that began in 2018 and extends to 2035, added that they didn’t want the event to be simply “find a place on the calendar” or “find a course that could host it.” The goal was to keep The Sentry as a jewel, something special. Kapalua had to close its two courses in Maui due to severe water restrictions caused by a dispute related to the water supply system. The Plantation course, which has hosted the PGA Tour since 1999, was affected by these restrictions. The Sony Open is in its final year of title sponsorship, raising uncertainty about Hawaii’s presence on the PGA Tour schedule after this year. The same day that the cancellation of The Sentry was announced, Kapalua reported that the Plantation course will reopen on November 10 and that tee time reservations can be made starting Thursday at a promotional rate of $399. It was reported that two of the 18 greens are still being restored. The Sentry has been the PGA Tour’s opening event every year since 1999, except in 2001, when the season began in Australia with a World Golf Championship. Many players who participate in Kapalua often participate in the Sony Open in Oahu. Several PGA Tour winners, including Aldrich Potgieter and Min Woo Lee, failed to qualify among the top 50 of the FedEx Cup. The tour has announced that, to compensate for the lack of participation in Kapalua, they will be added to the field of the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head the week after the Masters. Tadashi Yanai, the Japanese billionaire owner of Kapalua and founder of the clothing brand Uniqlo, along with the homeowners of Kapalua and Hua Momona Farms, filed a lawsuit in August against Maui Land & Pineapple, alleging that it has not maintained the water supply system. MLP filed a counterclaim, and both parties have exchanged accusations since then. The Hawaii Commission on Water Resource Management notified MLP two weeks ago about alleged violations of the water supply system, with fines that could amount to $11 million. MLP has until November 8 to respond. Meanwhile, the two Kapalua courses went from emerald green to yellow due to water restrictions, leading to a closure 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 hold The Sentry at Kapalua. Smith did not reveal which other fields were being considered. The Genesis Invitational had to be moved from Riviera in Los Angeles the previous year due to the deadly wildfires in Pacific Palisades. It was temporarily relocated to Torrey Pines, which still retained all its infrastructure from a PGA Tour event held three weeks earlier. The tour issued a statement explaining that after evaluating alternative venues in Hawaii and other locations, it was determined that The Sentry could not be held in 2026 due to logistical challenges, including shipping deadlines, tournament infrastructure, and vendor support. The Sentry has one of the longest sponsorship agreements with the tour. It remains to be determined whether it will return to Kapalua in 2027, a year in which significant changes are expected due to a renewed schedule. Tiger Woods leads a “Future Competition Committee” that is working to shape the tour. This committee is about to meet for the first time. When asked about the future of The Sentry in Maui in 2027, Smith replied that it’s difficult to say at this moment. Smith assured that they are committed to the celebration of The Sentry, and that they know from their conversations with the tour that the tournament will be on the calendar. However, there are many factors at play, including the situation on the island, the resolution of the water problem, the condition of the course, and the resolution of the lawsuits. Smith added that they have had good conversations and that they are committed to celebrating The Sentry again at the level they have maintained in the past. The Sony Open becomes the seventh tournament to start the year since the tour began.I am very proud of what The Sentry has become; I didn’t want ’26 to be any less special.
Stephanie Smith, Director of Marketing and Brand at Sentry
