BREAKING: PGA Tour cancels The Sentry tournament on Maui in 2026; state, county, nonprofits brace for economic hit

The PGA Tour announced today it is not holding The Sentry at the Plantation Course at Kapalua — the home of the tour’s prestigious season-opening event for the past 27 years — due to the water-starved condition of the course.

“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,” the PGA Tour said in an emailed statement to the Hawai‘i Journalism Initiative.

The PGA Tour did not elaborate on the status of the event past 2026, saying only: “Additional event information will be shared when appropriate.”

But even the loss of the tournament for one year will be a big economic hit to Maui, with the event bringing an estimated economic impact of $50 million annually.

In mid-August, the PGA Tour announced The Sentry would be held Jan. 8-11 at the Plantation Course. But Maui’s longstanding water issues came to light the same week with a lawsuit filed Aug. 18 by the owner of the Kapalua Plantation Course, Tadashi Yanai, a Japanese billionaire, against Maui Land & Pineapple.

TY Management Corporation, Yanai’s company, claims that Maui Land & Pineapple failed to maintain the more than century old Honokōhau Ditch System, which has led to severe water shortages and restrictions in West Maui.

“Out of the 154 days immediately preceding the filing of this Complaint … all Plaintiffs have been restricted to using no irrigation water for 136 days, and restricted using only 40 percent of their historical irrigation water usage for the remaining 18 days,” the lawsuit said.

Since then, the future of the water system has been up in the air, as Maui Land & Pineapple announced Wednesday on its website that it has been exploring the possibility of selling or leasing its “water source and infrastructure assets.”

TY Management Corporation responded with a related statement the same day: “Instead of helping the community that depends on their water, Maui Land & Pineapple is spending its energy announcing months old business maneuvers to offload responsibility at a crucial time of need. This announcement does nothing to solve the immediate crisis. It wastes time and resources on MLP’s own interests while doing little to address the urgent needs of residents, farmers and businesses.”

On Tuesday, Maui Land & Pine provided this statement to Hawai’i Journalism Initiative:

“The Sentry Tournament has provided much for Maui both in economic benefits and charitable contributions. The decision to leave Maui next year underscores the real challenges West Maui is facing with limited water resources. Maui’s severe drought is having island-wide impacts, which we are seeing firsthand from the delays in much-needed housing creation to less water availability for domestic and irrigation uses.

“For over a year, we have actively engaged with the Kapalua golf courses and other stakeholders to find solutions by reducing consumption and exploring the use of recycled water in West Maui. We will continue to follow guidance from the State of Hawai’i while supporting long-term strategies to ensure availability for generations to come.”

As of Friday, the water restrictions at Kapalua are at tier 3, or a 60% reduction. The Plantation and Bay golf courses closed for 60 days, starting Sept. 2, in an effort to restore the grass. Kapalua Golf announced Monday in an email to Hawai’i Journalism Initiative that “it has made the painful but necessary decision to close the Bay Course indefinitely and concentrate all available water on the Plantation Course.”

The PGA Tour’s agronomy team visited Kapalua Resort in early September and concluded that the course’s conditions were severely impacted by the drought and water restrictions.

With the event 114 days away as of Tuesday, the PGA Tour said it needed to make the decision now due to logistical challenges that include shipping deadlines, tournament build-out and vendor support.

The Sentry was scheduled to be one of nine Signature events on the PGA Tour in 2026, up from eight a year ago. The smaller-field event carried more FedEx Cup playoff points and a purse of $20 million, which is more than regular-season events. The newest Signature event — the Miami Championship at Trump National Doral course in Florida — is set for April 30-May 3 and does not yet have a title sponsor.

On Aug. 20, new PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp said at his introductory press conference that “scarcity” is one of the key characteristics he wants to see going forward: “I think the focus will be … to create events that really matter, and how we do that, what the number is, we’ll determine.”

Rolapp met virtually with Hawai‘i Gov. Josh Green on Monday afternoon to discuss the challenges the local community is facing and the decision to not play the tournament at The Plantation Course in 2026.

This is another economic hit for Maui, especially to West Maui which still is recovering from the wildfires two years ago that burned most of the town of Lahaina and 26 homes in Kula.

Many restaurants, hotels and small businesses counted on the annual revenue from the approximately 2,000 to 3,000 tourists who came each year to watch The Sentry, which formerly was know as the Tournament of Champions. The full-field Sony Open in Hawai’i is set to take place at Waialae Country Club on O’ahu Jan. 12-15, 2026.

“We support the PGA Tour’s decision, given the drought conditions Maui is facing,” Gov. Green said in an emailed statement to Hawai’i Journalism Initiative Tuesday. “Protecting our water and supporting our communities come first. The Sentry has long showcased Maui’s beauty while giving back to local nonprofits, and we’re grateful to the Tour, Sentry Insurance, Kapalua Resort and Maui County for their partnership. We are excited to host the Sony Open in Hawai‘i, bringing international attention and support to Hawai‘i’s communities.”

Maui Mayor Richard Bissen had similar thoughts to Gov. Green on the tough decision to not play The Sentry at the Plantation Course at Kapalua in less that four months.

“With our island facing the serious impacts of drought, we understand the PGA Tour’s difficult decision. While this situation involves a private water source outside the oversight of our County system, protecting all water resources and meeting the needs of our residents must remain the priority,” Bissen said in an email to Hawai’i Journalism Initiative.

Stephanie Smith, chief marketing & brand officer and chief golf partnership officer for title sponsor Sentry Insurance, said in an email to the Hawaiʻi Journalism Initiative: “We understand and support the PGA Tour’s decision, given the challenges related to the ongoing drought. We love Maui and the people who make the community such a special place.

“As we’ve said for years, Maui is a Sentry community not unlike our hometown of Stevens Point, Wisc., and that remains the case. Our communities are connected. We’ve built meaningful friendships throughout the island, and those relationships are bigger than the tournament.”

Sentry Insurance donated more than $3 million of its own company’s funds in the aftermath of the Lahaina and Kula wildfires of 2023. Sentry Insurance has been the title sponsor for the Kapalua event since 2018 and has signed to be the title sponsor through 2035.

Bissen added that Sentry Insurance has done a lot for the island as title sponsor here. Bissen noted the event’s impact here has been imnportant for nearly three decades.

“We are grateful to the PGA Tour, Sentry Insurance, and Kapalua Resort for their continued partnership, and we are saddened that the tournament will not return in 2026,” Bissen said. “Since 1999, the Tour has brought worldwide attention and support to Maui. The Sentry has contributed $9.7 million to local charities, but they are far more than a sponsor — they are a philanthropic friend with a long-term commitment to Maui. Through their Connected Communities program, they continue to provide collaborative opportunities for education and nonprofits that will benefit our residents for years to come.”

But of all the losses, charitable organizations on Maui will be among the hardest hit.

On May 20, tournament officials announced that The Sentry contributed a tournament record $747,704 to local nonprofits as a result of the tournament in 2025.

Since coming to Maui in 1999, The Sentry has raised more than $9.7 million for local nonprofits. With support from Sentry Insurance, the event has contributed to six community organizations: Scouting America-Aloha Council, Hale Makua Health Services, J. Walter Cameron Center, Ka Lima O Maui, Lahainaluna High School Foundation and Lahaina Junior Golf.

Hale Makua has been a beneficiary of The Sentry since 2002. Over that time span, the adult care center has received more than $1.5 million, according to CEO Wes Lo.

“It’s been a pretty important part of our fundraising,” Lo said. “It’s always something we can count on in fundraising. And it’s a steady thing and it has grown a little bit over the last few years.”

As recently as Wednesday, staff had been making plans with tournament officials who said the tournament was still moving forward.

Ka Lima O Maui, a community-based vocational rehabilitation program founded in 1955 that provides job training and employment opportunities for adults with disabilities, has been one of the beneficiaries since the first tournament on Maui in 1999.

Ka Lima O Maui is one of Maui’s oldest nonprofits and the largest employer of disabled residents on island, with more than 60 adults with disabilities in custodial and paper-shredding crews and 27 disabled adult participants in an adults day activity center program.

“We need every dollar that we can get to make sure that our programs are running safely, efficiently and serving as many individuals as we can,” said JD Wyatt, executive director of Ka Lima O Maui.

Hale Makua volunteers empty and reline the trash cans at the Plantation Course during the tournament. Hale Makua usually sent 15 to 20 volunteers per day to the tournament.

“We’re called ‘ecology’ and my staff also enjoys participating in it,” Lo said. “We have a really good time there and interacting with everybody. To watch a major sporting event like that up close is pretty special.”

The Hale Makua staff was usually out at the event for practice and pro-am rounds on Tuesday and Wednesday through the final round Sunday. When he was there, Lo took time to interact with fellow charitable recipients at the event as well.

“I’m seeing CEOs from other nonprofits doing the same thing we’re doing,” Lo said. “I’m picking up trash there; they’re running food and everything. I mean, we’re very proud to be out there representing the community. I think number one, it does bring the community together.”

Ka Lima O Maui sends 10 volunteers to the tournament Wednesday through Sunday, eight to stock and service the hydration stations and two to help with childcare for the PGA Tour players’ children.

While Wyatt declined to say how much his organization receives from The Sentry annually, he said, “From a donation perspective, it’s a substantial part of our donation income.”

The Lahainaluna High School Foundation gets all of its charitable contributions from The Sentry, sending 140 volunteer Lahainaluna High School students from football, softball, boys and girls wrestling, baseball, band and robotics programs. The proceeds the foundation receives from The Sentry go to college scholarships for Lahainaluna graduates.

“It’s going to be devastating,” foundation president Mark Tillman said. “The fact is that we have put all our eggs in one basket and use this as our sole source of generating income for the foundation, which has a primary responsibility of providing scholarships for our graduating seniors. This will leave us flat for the year even if it’s only gone for a year.”

During Aloha Friday on Jan. 4, 2025, PGA Tour players also helped raise funds and awareness for on-island charities by wearing aloha print hats, shirts, pants or shoes.

Additional local nonprofits that benefitted from the 2025 tournament included Aloha Pu‘u Kukui Watershed, Hawai‘i State Junior Golf Association/First Tee of Hawai‘i, Hua Momona Farms, Kapalua Maui Charities, Maui Junior Golf, University of Hawai‘i Maui College, Maui United Way and Maui Strikers Soccer Club.

Wyatt said: “Knowing other agencies and the charitable giving that’s done for them, this will hit us all really severely.”

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