PGA Tour Cancels 2026 Season Opening Event At Kapalua.

The PGA Tour announced today that the 2026 Sentry Tournament of Champions, scheduled to be held January 8-11, 2026, has been cancelled due to course conditions at the Kapalua Resort Plantation course. The Plantation course at Kapalua has been the host site of the event since 1999.

PGA Tour Statement

The PGA Tour released the following statement today. “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. Additional event information will be shared when appropriate.”

As of today, the PGA Tour has not announced a contingency plan as to whether or not they will host the Tournament of Champions at another location or cancel the event altogether.

On September 2, Kapalua Resort closed both courses for 60 days after not getting water since July 25, due to drought and water restrictions that have put the turf on the brink of death. Kapalua Resorts owner, Tadashi Yanai, who is also the founder of apparel brand Uniqlo, believes the fault lies somewhere other than with Mother Nature.

Legal Dispute

Yanai, along with local farmers and homeowners, filed a lawsuit in late August against Maui Land & Pineapple, alleging that they mismanaged the ditch-and-stream system that funnels water from the West Maui Mountains to Kapalua. Maui Land & Pineapple claims in the suit that they have done enough to maintain the system and the problem is from low flow, caused by drought.

“MLP has knowingly … allowed the Ditch System to fall into a state of demonstrable disrepair. That disrepair, not any act of God, or force of nature, or other thing, is why users who need it are currently without water,” the lawsuit states.

MLP responded with a statement that said, “last week Kapalua used more than 1 million gallons a day over two days, half the capacity of the wells, which led to the tighter restrictions.”

In the lawsuit, a claim was made that Yanai and the Kapalua Resort entered into “water delivery agreements” when he bought the Kapalua properties that would allow the courses to be kept in good condition. The filing says these agreements stipulated Maui Land “will at all times exercise commercially reasonable efforts to manage, repair and maintain” the ditch system for a reliable delivery of irrigation water.

The suit goes on to claim that the current drought isn’t the problem and cites U.S. Geological Survey data showing the watershed in the West Maui mountains gets more annual rainfall than Portland and Seattle.

“Water is scarce not because rain is falling in significantly smaller quantities. Rather, water is scarce because MLP has failed to honor its promises to maintain the infrastructure used to collect, carry, and store it properly,” the lawsuit alleges.

The PGA Tour’s agronomy team was on the property early this month as a tournament held in Hawaii has logistical challenges when compared to a tour event held on the mainland. “Shipping deadlines, vendor coordination and tournament infrastructure build-out, contributed to the decision not to play at Kapalua next year,” according to a PGA Tour spokesperson.

“We support the PGA Tour’s decision, given the drought conditions Maui is facing,” Hawaii Governor Josh Green said. “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.”

The PGA Tour said that additional details of where and if the Sentry Tournament of Champions, a signature event with a purse of $20 million and 50 FedEx Cup points, will be played when they have that information.

Mike is a founding member of Break80 Golf and a contributing golf and sports writer for Forbes with PGA Tour and LIV Golf media credentials. He can be found on social media platforms @short_sided_golf