[Picture: Harry How]
The PGA Tour’s 2026 season will begin without its traditional Maui backdrop.
On Tuesday the tour announced that The Sentry, its season-opening tournament and one of its nine $US20 million signature events, will not take place at Kapalua’s Plantation Course in early January as originally scheduled. The decision follows mounting challenges at the resort, which was forced to shut down for two months due to an ongoing water dispute amid Maui’s severe drought conditions. The conflict has erupted into legal action, with resort owner Tadashi Kanai and Kapalua homeowners filing a lawsuit against Maui Land & Pineapple. The plaintiffs allege the company has failed to properly maintain the water delivery system that serves the property.
Maui Land & Pineapple disputes these claims, maintaining it has fulfilled its obligations and attributing the water shortages to naturally low flows rather than system failures.
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“Following discussions with the Governor’s office, as well as leadership from Sentry Insurance, Kapalua Resort and Maui County, the PGA Tour has determined the 2026 playing of The Sentry will not be contested at The Plantation Course at Kapalua due to ongoing drought conditions, water conservation requirements, agronomic conditions and logistical challenges,” a tour spokesperson said in a statement. “Additional event information will be shared when appropriate.”
The Plantation Course has been the tour’s calendar opener since 1999, becoming a beloved television spectacle for golf fans seeking a tropical escape during winter’s peak. The stunning Pacific Ocean vistas have made it appointment viewing across snow-covered America. Originally known as the “Tournament of Champions,” the exclusive event featured only the previous season’s tournament winners. That changed after the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, when the field expanded to also include all Tour Championship qualifiers—a modification that became permanent in 2023. The following year brought another transformation: a rebrand to “The Sentry” and elevation to the tour’s signature series, with eligibility extending to the top 50 FedEx Cup finishers from the previous season.
The relocation adds another chapter to Maui’s recent challenges, coming just two years after devastating wildfires swept areas across the island.
The lingering question now facing the tour is what will happen to The Sentry event in 2026. The tour has not announced whether The Sentry will proceed on its scheduled January 8-11, 2026 dates at an alternative venue, move dates or face postponement entirely. Potential host sites span the tour’s winter circuit, including courses in California, Florida, Arizona, Nevada, and other Hawaiian locations.
The disruption won’t affect Hawaii’s other PGA Tour event, as the Sony Open, played at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu on the island of Oahu, remains on the schedule. However, whether the Sony Open could influence where or when the tour holds The Sentry is unclear.
Previously, the Tournament of Champions was played at Omni LaCosta Resort in Carlsbad, California. LaCosta’s North Course recently underwent a multi-million renovation and hosts the NCAA men’s and women’s D-I golf championships in May. However, the PGA Tour visits nearby Torrey Pines in February for the Farmers Insurance Open, so it’s unlikely to hold two events so close to each other in the same area.
Interestingly, the PGA Tour did add a ninth signature event to the 2026 PGA Tour schedule to be held at Trump Doral Resort in April. The event currently does not have a sponsor.
