HONOLULU -- The PGA Tour will not be returning to Hawaii in 2027, ending a longstanding tradition in the Islands.
The Sentry, often a season-opening event at the Kapalua Resort's Plantation Course, and the Sony Open at the Waialae Country Club in Honolulu will not be held next year by the PGA Tour.
The 2026 Sentry tournament, which was supposed to be held in January, was canceled last October because the PGA determined that severe drought conditions and water restrictions in West Maui compromised the golf course.
At Travel Weekly's Hawaii Leadership Forum in Honolulu on April 21, Jimmy Tokioka of the State of Hawaii's Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, addressed a room of more than 300 travel professionals, 70% of whom are based locally.
"We just found out about this, the governor and I, just like everybody else found out about this, and it got leaked yesterday by a sportswriter … he must have heard something from somebody in the PGA Tour, that it was the decision that was made," he said. "Milton Lafitaga, [the brand manager for sports tourism], who is here from HTA, has been in discussions, but they've been very cryptic."
Tokioka said that the reason to cancel was not due to a lack of effort from the Trump administration and the Hawaii Tourism Authority trying to secure the event.
"We all know with the PGA Tour, when people travel for that, they are high-end spenders, and that's the type of traveler we want to get to Hawaii," Tokioka said. "But they have decided not to come back. You know, we are still looking at other things to attract high-end spenders to Hawaii, and we want to make sure we continue to do that in conjunction with all of you in this room."