The PGA Tour is taking Hawaiʻi off the map in 2027, cutting off a 56-year streak of at least one official stop in the islands. For decades, January tournaments in Maui and Oʻahu have kicked off the golf year, lured top pros and deep-pocketed sponsors, and filled hotel rooms with winter-weary visitors. With no event on the books for next year, local businesses, charities and fans are suddenly staring at a big hole in the calendar.
Tour confirms the break and a broader reset
The Tour confirmed that Hawaiʻi is absent from the 2027 schedule in a statement reported by the Associated Press. According to that report, the move comes on the heels of last season's cancellation of The Sentry at Kapalua after drought conditions and a bitter fight over a century-old water system left the Plantation Course unable to host. Tour officials say they will roll out full details of the 2027 lineup at a later date, hinting that the reshuffle is part of a wider rethink of where and how early-season events are staged.
Why Kapalua fell off the board
In a news release, the PGA TOUR said it pulled The Sentry in 2026 because of "ongoing drought conditions, water conservation requirements, agronomic conditions and logistical challenges" after looking at alternate venues and concluding that relocation simply would not work, according to a PGA TOUR release. Tight shipping windows to Maui and the complexity of staging a signature-level tournament there were cited as major obstacles. That calculation is what pushed the Tour to open the 2026 season instead at the Sony Open in Honolulu.
Sentry, the big purse and Sony's shifting role
Sentry Insurance, based in Wisconsin and title sponsor since 2018, lists its partnership with the Tour as running through 2035 on the company's golf page. The Sentry had been elevated to Signature Event status with a Golf Digest-reported purse of 20 million dollars, but organizers could not find another course that matched the event's scale and expectations. Industry coverage says Sentry executives have been spotted at Torrey Pines and that the insurer is weighing a move of its signature sponsorship to San Diego as the Tour retools where its top-tier tournaments will land, according to Sports Business Journal.
Water wars and fallout at Kapalua
The owner of Kapalua, Tadashi Yanai, along with homeowners and Hua Momona Farms, sued Maui Land & Pineapple, accusing the company of failing to maintain the island's century-old irrigation system. Maui Land & Pineapple fired back with its own lawsuit, alleging that Kapalua violated water restrictions, according to Hawaiʻi Public Radio. Those overlapping cases, combined with conservation mandates, have sharply limited Kapalua's ability to grow and maintain tournament-ready turf and have made any quick PGA Tour return a long shot. Local nonprofits, vendors and hotels say losing those tournament weeks will cut into crucial winter revenue and charity funding.
Legal cloud over a potential comeback
Court schedules, possible regulatory decisions and settlement talks could leave Kapalua in limbo for months or even years, further complicating any short-term bid to get back on the Tour slate. Local coverage also points out that these cancellations are reverberating through nonprofit partners and the broader hospitality supply chain, a financial hit that county leaders and charities on Maui are openly bracing for, according to Maui Now.
What happens to the Sony Open
The Sony Open, first played in 1965 and held at Waialae Country Club since 1971, stepped into the spotlight as the 2026 season opener. Now, organizers are debating whether the Sony should shift onto the PGA TOUR Champions schedule or be kept in some other form on the main circuit, according to the Associated Press. The PGA Tour says more details on the 2027 calendar are coming, leaving at least a crack in the door for a Hawaiʻi return if the water, legal and logistical headaches can be sorted out.
