The 2026 season is going to kick off a little differently. For a very long time, the PGA Tour season has kicked off with The Sentry or the Tournament of Champions, as it was previously called. That changed between 2013 and 2023, when the Tour briefly shifted to a year-round schedule that started in the previous year. Since 2024, the calendar-year format has brought The Sentry back as the season opener. But, that will not be the case in 2026.

Twitter page Flushing It recently released reports from the PGA Tour confirming that the tournament had been completely taken off the schedule. Their tweet read, “The PGA Tour has just announced that the Sentry will not be contested in 2026 and the season will start at the Sony Open instead.” So the 2026 calendar will have one less event as the $20 million Signature tournament played in Kapalua, Hawaii, has been indefinitely canceled.

This news wouldn’t have come as a surprise to anyone who has been following the development at the Kapalua Plantation Course. The fairways on the iconic golf course had been destroyed due to a lack of water supply. Apparently, the Pu‘u Kukui Watershed Preserve was unable to distribute water efficiently throughout the region. Many businesses in Kapalua suffered as a result. That included the golf course, which lost its credibility as a host for a PGA Tour event.

So, instead of The Sentry, 2026 will begin with the second event in the regular PGA Tour season, the Sony Open in Hawaii. The event will be played at the Waialae Country Club from the third week of January.

But does that mean this is the end of The Sentry? Let’s see what the press release from the PGA Tour reveals.

Will The Sentry cease to exist?

The degradation of Kapalua Golf Course and the cancellation of The Sentry in 2026 are certainly concerning. It has been a part of the PGA Tour calendar for over 70 years, carrying a wealth of history along with it. This year, the tournament also created history.

In this year’s edition, Hideki Matsuyama managed the best 72-hole score of 35-under par in a PGA Tour event. But will The Sentry ever make a comeback to the PGA Tour again? Yes, it will. At least that is what an official of the event believes.

In the statement shared on the PGA Tour website, Stephanie Smith, chief marketing and brand officer and chief golf partnership officer at Sentry, said, “Sentry is committed to our long-term relationship with the TOUR – which runs through 2035 – and The Sentry’s place as a prominent event. While 2026 will not turn out as we would have liked, we’re optimistic about the future.” Smith certainly seems optimistic about the event’s future. That certainly gives hope of the event’s return beyond 2026.