Why the PGA Tour had to cancel The Sentry for 2026 and what it could mean for the Hawaiian swing's future

IVINS, Utah — The Sentry, the season-opening event on the PGA Tour, officially has been canceled for 2026, the PGA Tour and Sentry Insurance announced on Wednesday.

The tour had been seeking a suitable alternate venue for the $20 million signature event after announcing Sept. 16 that drought and water conservation issues had rendered Kapalua Resort’s Plantation Course, the tournament’s longtime host in Maui, Hawaii, unsuitable for holding the competition, scheduled for Jan. 8-11, 2026. The tour cited logistical challenges, including construction of tournament infrastructure, shipping deadlines and vendor support, in its decision to cancel the tournament entirely.

The $8.7 million Sony Open in Hawaii, a full-field event slated for Jan. 15-18 at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, becomes the tour’s season opener.

“Since it first became a possibility that the PGA Tour would not be able to play at the Plantation Course 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 Tyler Dennis, chief competitions officer at the tour, in a press release. “While it is unfortunate to arrive at this decision, we are appreciative of the collaboration and dedication from Sentry.”

The tour had informed players of the cancellation in the last few days.

“The Sentry is a jewel in the PGA Tour schedule,” said Stephanie Smith, chief marketing and brand officer and chief golf partnership officer at Sentry, which became title sponsor in 2018 and is signed on through 2035. “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 … and The Sentry’s place as a prominent event.”

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The Sentry eligibility is restricted to the top 50 players in the FedEx Cup standings and 2025 tournament winners. The elimination of The Sentry has prompted the tour to provide a “make-good” no-cut event to winners who did not finish among the top 50 in 2025. (Top 50 in 2025 are exempt into all 2026 signature events.) Seven players—Steven Fisk, Garrick Higgo, Joe Highsmith, Min Woo Lee, William Mouw, Aldrich Potgieter and Karl Vilips—currently fall into this category and will be added to the field at the RBC Heritage, a signature event, the week after the Masters. That number could increase depending on the outcome of the final four events of the season.

The decision not to play at Kapalua followed mounting challenges at the resort, which was forced to shut down for several months due to an ongoing water dispute amid Maui’s severe drought conditions. A conflict spilled 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.

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 and the expansion of the field to the top 50 FedEx Cup finishers from the previous season.

Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama won The Sentry in 2025.

Ben Jared

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In light of the news, we asked our writers to weigh in on the decision to cancel the event and its potential short- and long-term repercussions.

What’s your initial reaction to the cancelation of the event rather than holding it at a new venue or on a new date?

Bummer. Shame another Hawaiian venue couldn’t be found to facilitate the event. For those staring down the post-holiday winter doldrums, Kapalua in prime time was sneaky one of the best television watches of the season. —Joel Beall

It sucks. While I’d normally hate everything about a tournament like this one (small field, no cut), the Sentry at Kapalua is one I’ve always circled on the calendar. Nothing hits quite like that first image of guys going for the 18th green in two with the ocean and the swaying pines in the background, or Mark Rolfing educating us on trade winds. The Sentry is always the perfect cure for the post-Christmas/New Year’s blues. A signal that golf season, while still far away for those of us who live in cold-weather climates, is drawing near. It’s going to be an oddly empty week. —Christopher Powers

Not surprised. Tough trying to turn this around in a few months, though the problem had reared up in June and contingency plans probably should have started then. It’s not the $20 million taken off the table for the PGA Tour players that hurts, but how this impacts West Maui, ongoing recovery in Lahaina from the wildfires and charities such as the Cameron Center. —Dave Shedloski

What impact do you think the cancelation will have on the Sony Open?

Positive. The event always lived in the shadow of its island colleague. Now it serves as the de facto kickoff to the season, getting some much-deserved love from audiences. —J.B.

I agree with Joel. Other than maybe not getting a couple of bigger names from Sentry who wanted to stick around in Hawaii for another week, nothing too negative. Probably positive, actually. All eyes normally on Sentry as the year-opener will now be on Waialae. —C.P.

From a television viewing standpoint, it could be positive in terms of more viewers hungry for those soothing Hawaiian vistas. But you have to wonder what the field will look like. Some Kapalua contestants usually hung around to play Sony–though the number had been dwindling. Sony will still draw a few names; some top 50 guys will go. But I’m guessing not many. For instance, I doubt that TGL members will venture that far. And that could prompt Sony, in its final year as sponsor, to bow out. —D.S.

Tracy Wilcox

Should there be a concern here regarding the future of the Hawaiian swing?

In the ever-changing golf landscape, there’s concern for just about every event. But I can’t see the tour ever ditching Hawaii. Not only is the weather ideal for starting the season there, but the two venues, Kapalua and Waialae, have become iconic ones on the schedule. —C.P.

None. Big changes are coming to the tour. But the league knows what it has in Maui and won’t pull the plug, especially in the wildfire aftermath of a few years ago. —J.B.

Some. It won’t be a swing if Sony goes away. But Kapalua, once its water woes are solved, should remain on the schedule. Sentry Insurance is on board until 2035 as title sponsor, and in 2022, Stevens Point, Wis., home to Sentry, shared a proclamation with Maui announcing their relationship as “connected communities.” Sentry has donated $3 million to Maui wildfire relief. Something drastic would have to happen for the tour to leave Hawaii. —D.S.