Honolulu
The PGA Tour will not stage a tournament in Hawaii in 2027, marking the first time in 56 years that the islands will be absent from the professional golf calendar as the tour moves toward a revamped early-season schedule.
The decision follows months of uncertainty surrounding the future of The Sentry at Kapalua on Maui, which was canceled earlier this year due to drought conditions and a long-running dispute over water management on the island.
The Plantation Course at Kapalua, long admired for its scenic ocean views and wide fairways, had hosted the PGA Tour’s season opener since 1999, initially as a winners-only event before expanding under new sponsorship arrangements.
The PGA Tour confirmed the development after notifying staff involved at Kapalua, while expressing gratitude to the resort, Maui County, and the state of Hawaii for decades of support and partnership.
The Sony Open in Honolulu, traditionally played the week after Kapalua and held at Waialae Country Club since 1965, is also undergoing transition as its current sponsorship cycle concludes.
Organisers are reportedly exploring a potential move for the Sony Open into the PGA Tour Champions schedule, although no formal decision has been announced regarding its future placement.
The removal of Hawaii from the 2027 calendar reflects broader structural changes within the PGA Tour, which is reassessing its season-opening sequence and global scheduling priorities.
Sentry Insurance, which has been the title sponsor at Kapalua since 2018, remains committed to its long-term partnership through 2035 despite the event’s relocation uncertainty.
The most recent edition of The Sentry saw record-breaking scoring conditions, with Hideki Matsuyama winning at 35 under par in what turned out to be the final tournament at Kapalua for the foreseeable future.
The tournament has historically been expensive to stage due to logistical challenges, including transporting equipment to Maui, alongside relatively modest attendance figures compared to mainland events.
Water access disputes involving local landowners and management companies further complicated efforts to sustain the tournament at its traditional venue in recent years.
While officials have yet to confirm a replacement location, reports suggest possible mainland venues are being considered as part of the tour’s reshaped early-season structure.
The PGA Tour is expected to release its updated 2027 schedule in the coming months, which will formally confirm the absence of Hawaii events for the first time in more than half a century of continuous professional golf presence in the islands.
