The PGA Tour’s traditional season-opening stop in Hawaii will be discontinued from 2027, marking the end of a 56-year run since the island state became part of the tour schedule, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.
Hawaii has been omitted from the PGA Tour’s 2027 calendar, meaning no official events will be staged there for the first time since 1971, when the then-Hawaiian Open, now the Sony Open, was added to the tour.
Since then, Hawaii has hosted the season opener each January, benefiting from its warm weather. This year’s schedule included The Sentry and the Sony Open. However, The Sentry was canceled after drought conditions in Hawaii caused severe turf damage.
According to a PGA Tour statement, the event will not return next year due to ongoing water shortages in the islands.
The Plantation Course at Kapalua, the tournament venue, and nearby residents have been involved in legal disputes with water management companies over alleged mismanagement of local water systems.
The Sentry, one of the tour’s signature events, has also faced rising costs after its prize purse was raised to $20 million, in addition to the expense of transporting tournament infrastructure to Hawaii.
Meanwhile, the Sony Open’s sponsorship deal is set to expire this year, and the event is expected to transition into a PGA Tour Champions event, to be paired with the Mitsubishi Electric Championship on the Big Island.
khnews@heraldcorp.com
