“I am confident that the tournament will take place again in 2027. I cannot say for sure where.”
The above quote came from Stephanie Smith, spokesperson for Sentry Insurance to Wisconsin.golf about her company’s tournament — but it felt like an appropriate sentiment as uncertainty reverberates across the PGA Tour, which currently feels like a league entering a transitional season.
The fact that Sentry is confident about his future on the Tour schedule actually gives him more stability than some of his comrades did early in the season. The Tiger Woods-led Future Competition Committee asks big questions as it evaluates its tournaments – when, where and, scariest of all, Why – and as they deliberate, tournaments wait and wonder where they will fit in.
One overarching question seems to be this: Should the PGA Tour even play golf in January?
Vepe me must be added: education
I spoke briefly with Mark Rolfing – unofficial mayor of Kapalua and semi-official tournament host – Thursday morning about what would have been the first round of the Sentry and the kickoff of the PGA Tour season. He was on Maui and heaved a deep sigh. You can’t imagine more perfect weather, he said. You couldn’t imagine the Plantation course any better. Course designers Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore are on site this week, hoping to make water-saving adjustments to the course. And according to Rolfing, Crenshaw couldn’t believe how good it looked.
“Ben says these are the best conditions he has seen in 30 years,” Rolfing said.
Kapalua would start the calendar year as it has for more than a quarter century. Hosting the tournament, there’s plenty to like: players love it as a family-friendly island destination, and TV viewers love it as a vicarious escape from cold climates. The course is built on the side of a mountain, which means epic views of the sea, and there are layers of tournament history to lean on. In short, it’s a pleasant place to spend time, in real life or through the screen.
Instead, this year’s tournament was canceled due to complications surrounding water shortages and water management on Maui. At first this seemed like a specific one-time event. The course has recovered; Rolfing, a guest writer for GOLF, and Kapalua himself all report that Plantation Course has “pristine conditions” because tourists fill the fairways instead of professionals. But the water dispute is real and ongoing, the logistical challenges of organizing and broadcasting a tournament in Hawaii remain, and as the PGA Tour, with new leadership and committees, reevaluates its schedule for the 2027 season, it could face rising costs, complex politics and additional headaches and head the other way.
To its credit, Sentry didn’t leave Maui behind. One of the most painful aspects of canceling tournaments would be the void left for local communities; Kapalua is a particularly clear case, as nearby Lahaina is still recovering from devastating fires in 2023. But despite the tournament’s cancellation, a full Sentry delegation was on hand this week to announce $1 million in donations to local charities – and they have more planned for later this year.
Kapalua is not off the table for the future; it’s too early to say what will happen. Sentry’s deal with the Tour runs through 2035, which means, as Smith says, they will be a key part of the schedule in 2027. What’s less certain is when – and where – that tournament will be played.
While we are in Hawaii…
We haven’t started yet this PGA Tour season, so forgive me for looking past next week’s Sony Open and instead wondering if this might be… the final edition.
The Sony, which first existed as the Hawaiian Open, has been part of the Waialae Country Club tour schedule for half a century. But the Tour’s deal with Sony as title sponsor expires after the 2026 tournament. And its future is intertwined with the Sentry’s; it’s certainly easier to get headlining talent to Honolulu if they’ve spent the past week just a few islands away.
The expiring deal makes it easier to imagine the possibility of the Tour abandoning Hawaii as a tournament destination altogether. There are enough logistical challenges around Hawaii that new leadership looking to cut costs, tournaments, football season and creating greater scarcity might see this as a rule that needs to be cut first. But there is also a possible middle ground – more on that later.
Meanwhile, in the desert…
The 2026 American Express promises to be among the best in recent history. Without the Sentry and with many top players skipping Sony, some of the game’s biggest names – anchored by world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler – will kick off their season at PGA West, bringing star power to a desert that has welcomed top golf talent since 1960.
But what happens next year?
“I honestly don’t know,” tournament director Pat McCabe told the BBC Desert sun late last month. “We have entered into a contract with the golf course and the hotel that we are going to organize [the tournament] in our week. I think it’s just all up in the air.”
American Express has an agreement with the Tour through 2028. But Sony (the week before) and Farmers Insurance (the week after) each play the final tournaments under their current deals, leaving AmEx in limbo.
Speaking of which…
What’s next for Torrey?
This is the opposite of a sentimental exercise. Still, it’s hard to imagine that if Tiger Woods is in charge, he would happily take the Tour away from a golf course where he has so many iconic moments; he has won eight times as a professional at Torrey Pines, including the 2008 US Open.
But with Farmers Insurance’s deal set to expire after this year, there is understandable speculation about the future of the tournament – at least this version of it.
For years, Woods would kick off his season in La Jolla, making Torrey Pines the start of the golf calendar for Tiger fans. Still, tournament director Marty Gorsich sounded confident in his comments to a local news station.
“There is definitely talk of some change and it could be a big change. To me that’s exciting, it’s opportunistic. Does that threaten the future of Torrey? I don’t think so,” Gorsich said told ABC 10News.
Two visions of the future
It doesn’t take a master dot connector to suspect that the Tour is interested in avoiding football as much as possible. But I suspect Harris English’s musings last fall about the Tour starting after the Super Bowl might not last for a few weeks; why not let Sentry play this week? for the Super Bowl, when the NFL has a bye week?
In the Hawaiian solution, Sentry would go to Kapalua in the first week of February 2027 as a standalone kickoff event. This would involve a lot of local politics, and I won’t pretend to understand all the specific factors involved this NLU podcast explains some of it, if you’re interested), but if they could make it work and take advantage of Hawaii’s primetime opportunities – something even the West Coast can’t offer that time of year – it could feel bigger than ever. Then you can head straight to the WM Phoenix Open, which has been working as a supplemental offering to Super Bowl Weekend.
In the mainland solution, Sentry could take over title sponsorship at Torrey Pines and serve as season starter while Kapalua and the Tour determine their future. Torrey has become an iconic (if imperfect) Tour stop. It loses its sponsor. Perhaps a new one – plus an A-1 spot on the schedule – would bring it back to prominence.
Of course, even bigger changes could happen. The Tour schedule could eventually start in Florida. The deal with Sentry could become more complex. Some West Coast locations could serve as playoff spots. Right now, no one has all the answers – which makes it an excellent time for speculation.
In the meantime, enjoy the golf. And know that next year it will feel different.
Dylan Dethier welcomes your comments at dylan_dethier@golf.com.
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