“We are confident that the tournament will resume in 2027. We cannot say with certainty where it will be held.”
The above quote, which Sentry Insurance spokeswoman Stephanie Smith told Wisconsin.golf about their tournaments, felt like an appropriate sentiment as uncertainty echoes across the PGA Tour and the league feels like it’s in a period of transition right now.
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The fact that Sentry is confident about the future of his tour schedule actually gives him more stability than some of his peers early in the season. Tiger Woods’ Future Competition Committee is asking big questions when evaluating tournaments – when, where, and most frightening of all: why – and while they weigh in, the tournament sits and waits, wondering where they fit in.
One of the most important questions is: Should the PGA Tour play golf in January at all?
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I spoke briefly with Mark Rolfing, Kapalua’s unofficial mayor and quasi-official tournament organizer, Thursday morning about what was supposed to be the first round of the Sentry and the kickoff to the PGA Tour season. He was on Maui and he let out a big sigh. He said he couldn’t imagine more perfect weather. I also couldn’t imagine the Plantation course being in better shape. Course designers Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore are on site this week and hope to make water-saving adjustments to the course. And according to Rolfing, Crenshaw couldn’t believe how great it looked.
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“Ben says he’s in the best shape he’s been in 30 years,” Rolfing said.
Kapalua was scheduled to begin the calendar year as it has for more than a quarter of a century. As a tournament host, the island has many benefits. Players love it as a family-friendly island destination, and television viewers love it as a vicarious escape from colder climates. The course is built into the mountainside, giving you spectacular ocean views and tournament history to fall back on. In short, it’s a place where you can have a good time, both in real life and on screen.
Instead, this year’s tournament was canceled due to Maui’s water shortage and complex water management issues. At first, this seemed like a special one-off thing. The course has been restored. Rolfing, a visiting writer for GOLF, and Kapalua itself report that the plantation course is in a “pristine state,” with fairways filled with tourists rather than professionals. But the water crisis is real and ongoing, and the logistical challenges of hosting and broadcasting tournaments in Hawaii remain, creating the potential for rising costs, complicated politics and additional headaches to move in the opposite direction as the PGA Tour reevaluates its schedule for the 2027 season with new leadership and a new committee.
To its credit, Sentry has not left Maui behind. Perhaps one of the most painful aspects of tournament cuts will leave a void in local communities. Kapalua is an especially clear case given that nearby Lahaina is still recovering from a devastating fire in 2023. But even though the tournament was canceled, the entire Sentry delegation arrived this week to announce a $1 million donation to local charities. And they plan to donate even more later this year.
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That’s not to say Kapalua isn’t thinking about future possibilities. It’s too early to say what will happen. Sentry’s contract with the tour runs through 2035, and as Smith said, Sentry will be a key part of the 2027 schedule. What is uncertain is when and where the tournament will be held.
While we were in Hawaii…
it hasn’t started yet this It’s PGA Tour season, so please forgive me for thinking past next week’s season opener, the Sony Open, that maybe it’s the final version.
Originally existing as the Hawaiian Open, the Sony has been a part of Waialae Country Club’s touring schedule for half a century. However, the tour’s contract with Sony as title sponsor expires after the 2026 tournament. And that future is intertwined with that of the Sentry. Sure, it’s easier to attract headliner talent to Honolulu if you spend the week before on just a few islands.
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With the contract expiring, it’s not hard to imagine the Tour potentially withdrawing from Hawaii as a tournament destination altogether. There are enough logistical challenges around Hawaii that new leaders looking to cut costs, cut tournaments, shorten the football season and increase scarcity could see this as one of the first items to cut. But there is also the possibility of a middle ground. More on this later.
Meanwhile, in the desert…
American Express in 2026 promises to be the best in recent memory. With no Sentry and many top players flying Sonny, some of the game’s biggest names will start the season at PGA West, anchored by world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, bringing star power to the desert that has hosted golf’s top talent since 1960.
But what will happen next year?
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“Honestly, I don’t know,” said tournament secretary Pat McCabe. desert sun Late last month. “We have agreements in place with golf courses and hotels to hold (tournaments) this week. I think everything is up in the air.”
American Express has a contract with the Tour through 2028, but Sony (last week) and Farmers Insurance (next week) are each scheduled to play in the Finals under their current contracts, leaving AmEx in a sandwich of uncertainty.
Speaking of which…
What’s next for Tory?
This is the opposite of sentimental practice. Still, if Tiger Woods was in charge, it’s hard to imagine he’d be willing to tear the Tour away from the golf course where he has so many iconic moments. He won eight times as a professional at Torrey Pines, including the 2008 U.S. Open.
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But with Farmers Insurance’s contract expiring this year, there is understandable speculation about the future of the tournament, or at least this one.
For years, Woods started the season in La Jolla, making Torrey Pines the start of the golf calendar for Tiger fans. Still, tournament director Marty Gorsich sounded confident in comments to local news outlets.
“There’s definitely talk of some change, and it could be a big change. To me, that’s exciting and opportunistic. Does that threaten Tory’s future? I don’t think so,” Gorsich told ABC 10News.
Two visions for the future
It doesn’t take a dot-to-dot master to guess that Tool is interested in dodging the football as much as possible. But I’m guessing Harris English was thinking last fall about a tour starting after the Super Bowl that could be delayed by a few weeks. Why not play Sentry this week? in front Super Bowl during NFL bye week?
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For Hawaii Solutions, the Sentry will travel to Kapalua in the first week of February 2027 as a separate kickoff event. There’s going to be a lot of local politics involved, and I don’t pretend to understand all the specific factors involved (this NLU podcast covers some of them, if you’re interested), but if they can get it right and capitalize on Hawaii’s prime-time potential (something even the West Coast can’t offer at that time), it could feel bigger than ever. You can then head straight to the WM Phoenix Open, which has served as a complement to Super Bowl weekend.
A mainland solution could see Sentry take over as title sponsor of Torrey Pines, with Kapalua and the Tour looking to the future as season starters. Torrey became an iconic (albeit incomplete) tour stop. We are losing sponsors. Perhaps the addition of an A-1 spot to the schedule, in addition to a new one, will help bring that name recognition back.
Of course, even bigger changes are possible. The tour schedule could eventually begin in Florida. The deal with Sentry could be even more complicated. Some West Coast venues could qualify for playoff spots. No one has all the answers at this point, so it’s a time of speculation.
For now, let’s enjoy golf. And know that next year will feel different.
Dylan Dethier welcomes your feedback at dylan_dethier@golf.com.
The post The start of next year’s PGA Tour season is one of the great mysteries. Here’s why it appeared first on Golf.
