“I’m sure the tournament will return in 2027. I can’t say for sure where.”
The quote above came from Stephanie Smith, spokeswoman for Sentry Insurance, speaking in Wisconsin.golf about her company’s tour — but it felt like an appropriate sentiment as the uncertainty reverberates throughout the PGA Tour, which currently feels like a league entering a season in transition.
The fact that Sentry is certain of his future on the tournament schedule actually gives him more stability than some of his early season peers. The Future Competition Committee led by Tiger Woods is asking big questions as it evaluates his tournaments — when, where and, scariest of all, why – and while they think, the tours sit and wait and wonder where they will fit.
An overarching question seems to be this: Should the PGA Tour play golf in January at all?
Another thing to add: education
I spoke briefly with Mark Rolfing — the unofficial mayor of Kapalua and semi-official host of the tournament — on Thursday morning, which would have been the first round of the Sentry and the start of the PGA Tour season. He was on Maui and heaved a big sigh. You couldn’t imagine more perfect weather, he said. You couldn’t imagine the Plantation course in better shape. Course designers Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore are on site this week, hoping to make changes to the course to save water. And according to Rolfing, Crenshaw couldn’t believe how good it looked.
“Ben says it’s the best conditions he’s seen in 30 years,” Rolfing said.
Kapalua was scheduled to kick off the calendar year as it has for more than a quarter century. As a tournament host, it has a lot going for it: players love it as a family-friendly island destination, and TV viewers love it as a vicarious escape from cold-weather climes. The course is built into the side of a mountain, meaning epic seascape views, and has layers of tournament history to lean on. In short, it’s a nice 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 case. The course has recovered; Rolfing, a guest writer for GOLF and Kapalua himself all reports that the Plantation Course has “pristine conditions” as tourists fill the fairways instead of the pros. But the water dispute is real and ongoing, the logistical challenges of hosting and broadcasting a tournament in Hawaii remain, and as the PGA Tour, with new leadership and new committees, reevaluates its schedule for the 2027 season, it could see increased costs, complex politics and additional headaches and go the other way.
To its credit, Sentry hasn’t left Maui behind. One of the sore points of any tour stoppage would be the void left for local communities; Kapalua is a particularly clear case, given that Lahaina is still recovering from the devastating fires in 2023. But despite the tour’s cancellation, a full Sentry delegation was on hand this week to announce $1 million in donations for local charities – and they have more planned for later this year.
Kapalua is not off the table for the future; it is too early to say what will happen. Sentry’s deal with the tournament runs through 2035, which means, Smith says, they’ll 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 It’s PGA Tour season, so excuse me for looking past next week’s season-opening Sony Open and wondering if it could be … the last edition.
The Sony, which originally existed as the Hawaii Open, has been part of the tournament schedule at Waialae Country Club for half a century. But the Tour’s deal with Sony as title sponsor expires after the 2026 Tour. And its future is intertwined with Sentry’s; of course it’s easier to get top talent to Honolulu if they’ve spent the past week just a few islands.
The expiring deal makes it easier to imagine the possibility of the Tour dropping Hawaii as a tour destination altogether. There are enough logistical challenges around Hawaii that new leadership looking to cut costs, cut tournaments, shorten the football season and create more shortages may see this as a single item to land first. But there’s also a middle ground—more on that in a minute.
Meanwhile, in the desert…
American Express 2026 promises to be among the best in recent memory. Without 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 seasons at PGA West, bringing star power to a desert that has welcomed top golf talent since 1960.
But what will happen next year?
“I honestly don’t know,” tournament executive director Pat McCabe told him The desert sun at the end of last month. “We have a contract in place with the golf course and the hotel to host (the tournament) in our week. I think everything is up in the air.”
American Express has a deal with the Tour through 2028. But Sony (the week before) and Farmers Insurance (the week after) are each playing the final tour in their current deals, which puts AmEx in a sandwich of uncertainty.
Speaking of which…
What’s next for Torrey?
This is the opposite of a sentimental exercise. However, it is difficult to imagine that if it is Tiger Woods calling the shotshe would willingly withdraw the tournament from a golf course where there are so many iconic moments; he has won eight times at Torrey Pines as a professional, including the 2008 US Open.
But with the Farmers Insurance deal expiring after this year, there is understandable speculation about the future of the tournament – at least this version of it.
For years, Woods would start his season in La Jolla, making Torrey Pines the start of the golf calendar for Tiger fans. However, tournament director Marty Gorsich sounded confident in comments to a local news station.
“There’s definitely talk of some change and it could be a big change. To me it’s exciting, it’s opportunistic. Does it threaten Torrey’s future? I don’t think so,” Gorsich told ABC 10News.
Two visions for the future
It doesn’t take a major dot connector to assume that the Tour is interested in avoiding football as much as possible. But I think Harris English’s thoughts last fall about the tour starting after the Super Bowl might be a few weeks off; why hasn’t Sentry played this week ahead Super Bowl, when the NFL is on a bye week?
In the Hawaii solution, Sentry would go to Kapalua the first week of February in 2027 as a stand-alone launch event. This would involve a lot of local politics, and I won’t pretend to understand all the specific factors involved (although this NLU podcast features some of it, if you’re interested), but if they can make it work and rely on Hawaii’s prime opportunities — something even the West Coast can’t offer that time of year — it could feel bigger than ever. Then you can go straight to the WM Phoenix Open, which has been functioning as a complementary offering for Super Bowl Weekend.
In the continental fix, Sentry could take over the title sponsorship at Torrey Pines, locking in as a season starter while Kapalua and the Tour sort out their futures. Torrey has become an iconic (if imperfect) tour stop. It is losing its sponsor. Perhaps a youngster — plus an A-1 spot on the schedule — would help his return to prominence.
There could be even bigger changes, of course. The tour schedule may eventually begin in Florida. Dealing with Sentry can get more complex. Several West Coast locations may be entered as playoff spots. At the moment, no one has all the answers – which makes it prime time for speculation.
In the meantime, enjoy the golf. And know that next year, it will be different.
Dylan Dethier welcomes your comments at dylan_dethier@golf.com.
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