The PGA Tour Cancels The Sentry in 2026 Due to Problems in Maui
The PGA Tour has announced the cancellation of its inaugural tournament, The Sentry, which was to be held in Kapalua, Maui. This decision is made instead of seeking an alternative course due to the water scarcity in the area, marking the first cancellation of a tournament since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The Sony Open in Honolulu will be the first tournament of 2026, starting from January 15th to 18th. This date represents the latest start of a year since the PGA Tour was established in 1969.Both the tour and Wisconsin-based Sentry Insurance had considered other courses to host the event, which has a $20 million prize purse and is intended for PGA Tour winners and the top 50 in the FedEx Cup. However, it was decided not to hold the tournament.
Kapalua had to close its two courses in Maui due to severe water restrictions imposed by a dispute with the company in charge of the water supply system. The Sony Open is in its final year of title sponsorship, which puts Hawaii’s presence on the PGA Tour schedule in doubt after this year. The announcement of The Sentry’s cancellation coincided with Kapalua’s announcement that the Plantation Course will reopen for play on November 10, with tee times available starting Thursday at a promotional rate of $399. It was reported that two of the 18 greens were still under restoration. The Sentry has been the PGA Tour’s opening event each year since 1999, except in 2001, when the season began in Australia with a World Golf Championship. Several players who competed at Kapalua often headed to Oahu for the Sony Open. Several PGA Tour winners failed to finish in the top 50 of the FedEx Cup. The tour’s management has confirmed 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.“I am very proud of what The Sentry has become; I didn’t want ’26 to be less,” commented Stephanie Smith, Sentry’s director of marketing and brand, who oversees the golf partnership initiated in 2018. The sponsorship extends until 2035.
Stephanie Smith
Meanwhile, the two Kapalua courses went from emerald green to yellow due to water restrictions, leading to a closure in September of 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.
Director Smith did not reveal which other fields were considered as options. The Genesis Invitational had to move from Riviera in Los Angeles due to the wildfires in Pacific Palisades. It was relocated to Torrey Pines, which still had all its infrastructure ready after having hosted a PGA Tour event three weeks earlier.The Sentry has one of the longest title 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” to shape the tour. That committee is about to meet for the first time. When asked about the future of The Sentry in Maui in 2027, Smith replied: “It’s hard to say at this moment.” “We are committed to playing The Sentry,” he affirmed. “We know from our conversations with the tour that The Sentry will be on the calendar. There are many factors at play at the moment. What’s happening on the island? Will the water problem be resolved? Will the course be playable? What about the lawsuits that are being settled?” “We’ve had good conversations,” he added. “We are committed to playing The Sentry again at the level we’ve had in the past.” The Sony Open becomes the seventh tournament to start the year since the tour began.“After evaluating alternative venues in Hawaii and beyond, the tour determined that it would not be able to hold The Sentry in 2026 due to logistical challenges, including shipping deadlines, tournament infrastructure, and vendor support,” the tour stated in a statement.
PGA Tour
