4/21/26

The PGA Tour has announced plans to end The Sentry, which was the Tournament of Champions, and the Sony Open in Hawai’i. The Tour is exploring the option of turning the Sony Open into a PGA Tour Champions event starting next year. In doing so, the PGA Tour is abandoning tradition and Hawai’i while universally disappointing its fans.

The Sentry, which was held at The Plantation Course at Kapalua, was one of the hallmark events on the PGA Tour calendar. For those buried in snow, The Sentry was like watching a golfer’s dream of the bright blue ocean, green fairways, sunny skies, and warmth. There wasn’t a more enjoyable, envious experience than daydreaming of playing golf in Hawai’i, while watching some of the best players in the world tee it up to begin the PGA Tour season. The course had its famous 18th hole, which played over 650 yards as a par five. While it wasn’t as impactful as a major championship, it was the perfect way to start the season. The TV timeslot was perfect, giving golf fans primetime golf. The Sentry had been held in Hawai’i every year since 1999.

The Sony Open was held at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu. While it might not go entirely away, the tournament will be relegated to the PGA Tour Champions, and let’s face it, not as many people watch 50+ year old pros play golf as opposed to those in their prime. The event won’t be the same. The Sony Open was a great chance for more players to launch their season, and this year, some big names rose to the top of the leaderboard. Chris Gotterup won it this year, and he has been a top 20 player in the world recently. Robert MacIntyre, fresh off a road Ryder Cup victory for Europe, was in the top five, while other players like Ryan Gerard and Jacob Bridgeman started their stellar seasons with a top-five result. The Sony Open had been held at Waialae every year since 1971.

Part of why LIV Golf hasn’t been successful in the United States is its refusal to go to places in the country where the PGA Tour doesn’t go. LIV is starting to understand that by going to Indianapolis, but their inaugural U.S. event was in Portland, Oregon, at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club. Had they stayed in the PNW, that event would’ve grown over time, as people I’ve spoken to as workers and patrons both enjoyed the experience. A group of high schoolers told me that a large reason why they went was that it was the only chance they had in their lives to see players like Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka close to home.

Going to Hawai’i for the PGA Tour does many successful things. Firstly, it hits a gorgeous part of the country. Everyone knows how beautiful the islands are, and it provides countless picturesque views, which is perfect for TV. Primetime TV is something rare in golf, due to its inability to be reasonably played under lights in the dark. With Hawai’i being six hours behind the Eastern Time Zone, it’s a rare chance for the majority of the country to see golf in that timeslot. The PGA Tour is going up against the NFL Playoffs, which does drive massive ratings. They always have the option of playing during the week to avoid going up against the shield, but that would be too logical for the PGA Tour. Geographically, it’s a perfect spot to get players into the West Coast swing in the early portions of the season.

The island of Maui was projected to lose over $50 million due to this year’s Sentry Tournament of Champions being canceled. Sentry did the charitable thing by donating a measly $1 million to Maui nonprofits. Hawai’i already had the Pro Bowl pulled from them last decade by the NFL, and now the PGA Tour is ripped away from the 50th state. Pacific Northwest golf fans know that feeling all too well, as the PGA Tour continues to ignore the region.

In a time where the PGA Tour is making great strides with TV ratings, the stars are all playing wonderfully, and there could be a new tour created to fit between the Korn Ferry Tour and the PGA Tour, this is a boneheaded decision. Strategic Sports Group (SSG) is investing up to $3 billion (!) into the PGA Tour, yet the Tour can’t shell out a few bucks to fly out some ShotLink equipment. Where that $3 billion is going remains a mystery, but bailing on tradition isn’t a good place to spend it.

Welcome to Overlooked Island, Hawai’i. We hope your stay is slightly less desolate than ours.

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