The PGA Tour’s opening event on the 2026 schedule will not be played due to a lingering water issue at the Kapalua Resort on Maui and the inability to find a suitable replacement for the $20 million signature event.
That means the Sony Open in Honolulu will becoming the opening event of the season.
The Sentry, which was to bring together players who finished among the top 50 in the final FedEx Cup standings from 2025 as well as seven other players who were outside of the top 50 but won PGA Tour events to the Plantation course, is the victim of drought conditions and ongoing water issues in the area that the Tour determined last month would mean having to move the event.
With time running out on finding a different venue, the Tour and Sentry announced Wednesday that the decision was made not to play at all.
“Since it first became a possibility that the PGA Tour would not be able to play at the Plantation Course at Kapalua due to the ongoing drought conditions on Maui, we worked closely with our partners at Sentry to assess options for contesting the Sentry in 2026,” said PGA Tour chief competitions officer Tyler Dennis in a statement. “While it is unfortunate to arrive at this decision, we are appreciative of the collaboration and dedication from Sentry Insurance, a tremendous partner of ours.”
Sentry has a sponsorship agreement with the PGA Tour through 2035 and has been the sponsor of the event since 2018.
It is unusual for the Tour to cancel a tournament for reasons outside of severe weather—or due to the pandemic in 2020—because title sponsorship fees and network television rights are a profit center for the Tour.
But the cost of relocation was likely pricey and the Tour said other logistical challenges such as shipping deadlines, tournament infrastructure and vendor support were other factors.
The Tour is scheduled to play the Sony Open in Honolulu the following week, Jan. 15–18. The following week the PGA Tour Champions visits the Big Island of Hawaii for the Mitsubishi Electric Championship.
“The Sentry is a jewel in the PGA Tour schedule,” said Stephanie Smith, Sentry’s chief marketing and brand officer. “We were determined to find a way to play a signature-level event in 2026—one that honored the tournament’s tradition and provided the quality of competition that players and fans have come to expect.
“Despite the Tour’s best efforts, it became impossible to do that. Sentry is committed to our long-term relationship with the Tour—which runs through 2035—and the Sentry’s place as a prominent event. While 2026 will not turn out as we would have liked, we’re optimistic about the future.”
The Tour announced that the players who were eligible for the Sentry field via victories but not among the top 50 in FedEx points will be given spots in another signature event, the RBC Heritage in April the week following the Masters. There are several players in that situation with the potential for four more via the remaining events on the fall schedule.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as PGA Tour Makes Tough Decision About 2026 Season Opener.