Aloha, Goodbye: PGA Tour Set to Skip Hawaii Entirely in 2027

A Six-Decade Streak Comes to an End

I've covered a lot of schedule reshuffling in my years on Tour, but this one genuinely stopped me in my tracks. The PGA Tour is planning to have zero events in Hawaii for the 2027 season—the first time that's happened in 63 years.

Let that sink in for a moment. Since 1965, when the Sony Open first teed off at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Tour pros have been making the trek across the Pacific every January. It's been as reliable as palm trees and pineapples. Until now.

How We Got Here: The Sentry Situation

The dominoes started falling earlier this year when The Sentry, scheduled for January 8-11 at Kapalua's Plantation Course in Maui, had to be scrapped entirely. The culprit? A water rights dispute that left the course in drought conditions and unable to host professional golf.

Tour officials scrambled to find an alternative venue on the islands, but came up empty. The result was a less-than-glamorous start to 2026, with the season kicking off on January 15 at the Sony Open in Honolulu—a tournament that typically played second fiddle to The Sentry during a two-week Hawaiian swing.

Hideki Matsuyama's victory at The Sentry in 2025 now carries some unexpected weight. The Japanese star may go down as the final winner of that event in its Hawaiian form, at least for the foreseeable future.

What Happens to These Tournaments?

Here's where things get interesting from a strategic standpoint. Sentry Insurance has a sponsorship deal locked in through 2035—they're not walking away from professional golf. According to reports, PGA Tour executives have been spotted at Torrey Pines in San Diego, and the timing isn't coincidental.

The Farmers Insurance Open's partnership with that iconic coastal venue is expected to conclude this year, potentially opening the door for Sentry to transplant their title sponsorship to the mainland. Torrey Pines, with its January slot and dramatic Pacific views, could provide a California alternative that maintains some of that West Coast flavor.

As for the Sony Open, the Tour is considering a move that would shift the event to the Champions Tour, potentially pairing it with the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai. That's a significant demotion for a tournament with nearly 60 years of history on the main Tour.

The Tournament of Champions Legacy

For those keeping score at home, The Sentry—formerly known as the Tournament of Champions—served as the official PGA Tour season opener from 1986 to 2013, and again in 2024 and 2025. The field format was always special: the top 50 players from the previous season's FedEx Cup standings, plus every winner from the prior year. It was an exclusive winners-only affair that set the tone for the season ahead.

What This Means for Players and Fans

The two-week Hawaii swing was more than just a scheduling convenience—it was a lifestyle perk that players genuinely valued. Flying to the middle of the Pacific for a single event rarely makes sense logistically, but back-to-back tournaments? That's a different calculation entirely.

Without that pairing, the economics shift dramatically. Expect conversations around appearance fees and travel stipends to heat up as the Tour figures out how to make a potential standalone West Coast event attractive enough for top talent.

For fans, it's the end of an era of watching golf from paradise. Those sunrise tee times, volcanic backdrops, and whale-watching breaks between shots have been appointment television for generations.

The Bottom Line

The PGA Tour has promised more details about the 2027 schedule will come later, but the framework is clear: Hawaii is out, at least temporarily. Water rights disputes, venue availability, and the realities of modern Tour economics have combined to end a 63-year run.

Will professional golf return to the islands someday? Almost certainly. But for now, the Trade Winds will blow without the sound of drivers cracking in the distance.

Key Takeaways

• 2027 will mark the first year since 1964 without a PGA Tour event in Hawaii
• The Sentry's cancellation in 2026 due to drought conditions triggered the scheduling shift
• Sentry Insurance (contracted through 2035) may relocate their sponsorship to Torrey Pines
• The Sony Open could move to the Champions Tour
• Further schedule details expected from the PGA Tour in coming months