PGA Tour: Kapalua Off the 2026 Schedule Due to Drought in Maui

The PGA Tour Leaves Kapalua Resort Due to Drought and Water Dispute

The PGA Tour announced this Tuesday that its inaugural season tournament will not be held at Kapalua Resort, Hawaii. The decision was made due to the drought and the dispute over water that have affected the golf course, leaving it in poor condition for The Sentry event, scheduled for January. Since 1999, the tournament has been held at the Plantation Course at Kapalua, with the exception of 2001, when the season began in Australia. Now, the PGA Tour is looking for a new location for The Sentry, a highly relevant event with a purse of $20 million, which brings together the winners of the 2025 PGA Tour and the top 50 of the FedEx Cup. The 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, and consulted with Sentry Insurance, Kapalua Resort, and Maui County.

The PGA Tour has determined that the 2026 edition of The Sentry will not be played at the Plantation Course in Kapalua due to continued drought conditions, water conservation requirements, agronomic conditions, and logistical challenges.

PGA Tour

In addition to the drought, the logistical challenges of transporting supplies and equipment to an island in the middle of the Pacific were considered. Maui has been dealing with drought conditions affecting 140,000 residents. Water conservation measures prioritize the island’s needs.

We support the decision of the PGA Tour, given the drought conditions facing Maui. 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.

Josh Green, Governor of Hawaii

According to Kapalua officials, the tournament has an economic impact of $50 million in the area. Sentry, which has a sponsorship agreement until 2035, agreed with the decision given the circumstances in West Maui.

As we’ve said for years, Maui is a Sentry community, not unlike our hometown of Stevens Point, Wisconsin, and that remains the case. Our communities are connected. We’ve built meaningful friendships across the island, and those relationships are more important than the tournament.

Stephanie Smith, Director of Marketing and Brand at Sentry

The water dispute centers on accusations that Maui Land & Pineapple, which operates the ditch system that supplies irrigation water to Kapalua, has not made the necessary repairs. Tadashi Yanai, the Japanese billionaire owner of Kapalua and founder of the Uniqlo brand, along with the homeowners of Kapalua and Hua Momona Farms, filed a lawsuit on August 18 against MLP, alleging lack of maintenance of the water supply system.

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

Demand

MLP has stated that it has carried out “certain repairs and improvements to the ditch system” according to the instructions of the Water Resources Management Commission and that all its actions are “consistent with the agreements between MLP and the golf courses”. 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 prohibit all irrigation. Kapalua announced on Monday that the Bay course would close indefinitely in an effort to divert the little irrigation allowed to save the Plantation. In recent weeks, both sides have traded accusations. MLP said in a statement last week that Kapalua used more than 1 million gallons daily for two days, half the capacity of the wells, leading to stricter restrictions. TY Management, Yanai’s company, said Kapalua’s irrigation has central control systems and water use is science-based. A company spokesperson said 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 it opened in 1991. It was the first design by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. The PGA Tour Champions kicks off its season on Big Island from January 23rd to 25th, while the LPGA usually visits Hawaii in early October. The next step is to determine where and 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 La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, California. The PGA Tour has added Trump Doral, near Miami, to the 2026 schedule in April. A sponsor has not yet been announced for that tournament.