Hawaii has always been one of the most important venues for the PGA Tour. The 60-year-old Sony Open event is particularly known for its scenic setting of Maui and Honolulu against the blue Pacific backdrop. Sadly, it looks like the PGA Tour might do away with the tradition in the coming years. As the golfing realm gets ready to witness yet another edition of the iconic Sony Open, this might be the last time the tournament is being organized. 

The PGA Tour will be undergoing a massive restructuring in 2027. And if things do go according to plan, the league would not continue with the Sony Open anymore. In a recent report by NUCLR Golf on X, the situation was explained.

The statement read, “Multiple sources tell Golf Digest that next week’s Sony Open in Hawaii could be the last time the PGA TOUR plays there, should the proposed schedule restructuring take effect in 2027. The report indicates both the Tournament of Champions & Sony Open are on the chopping block, with one reason being high operational costs.” 

With the PGA Tour at an inflation point at the moment, its new CEO, Brian Rolapp, is currently trying to revamp the entire league. Together with the Strategic Sports Group, the PGA Tour is aiming to change the manner in which fans perceive professional golf. Recently, speaking on the same, Tiger Woods chimed in with his two cents about why the revamp is necessary. He pointed out that the tour is trying to bring to the table a model that will be entirely fan-focused. 

“Well, this is fan-based. We’re trying to give the fans the best product we possibly can, and if we’re able to give the fans the best product we can, I think we can make the players who have equity in the tour, we can give them more of that,” said Woods. “So the financial windfall could be fantastic for everyone who’s involved,” he further added.

Now, coming back to the Sony Open, as the location for the event is quite remote from the heart of the city, the cost of organizing an entire tournament of such grandeur requires a lot of money. 

In fact, several sources have also pointed to the fact that the Sony Open is actually the costliest of all the tournaments in the entire calendar. Moreover, not only the cost alone, but management and logistics too are some of the barriers that the tour faces while trying to organize the event. And there’s more. Taking into consideration Maui’s sparse population and the mountainous region, the number of people coming in person to witness the event is also negligible. Thus, all in all, the entire situation does not look very upbeat for the 60-year-old event. Notably, this is not the only instance of the PGA Tour cancelling one of its iconic events.

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PGA Tour’s 2026 season set for delayed start after Sentry cancellation

Last September, the PGA Tour suddenly announced that The Sentry would not be taking place at Kapalua in 2026. Following that announcemen, they declared cancellation of the event in October 2025. Due to the same, the PGA Tour for the 2026 season would begin a week late.

The authorities of the PGA Tour declared, “The Tour announced last month that The Sentry would not be played at The Plantation Course at Kapalua due to ongoing drought conditions on Maui, water conservation requirements and agronomic conditions.”

The Sentry began back in 1986, and since then, it was the tournament that kicked off the PGA season till 2013. The same again happened in 2024 and 2025, too. Right after the announcement regarding the Plantation Course at Kapalua Resort, the Tour decided to call off Sentry. The cancellation of The Sentry marks a rare disruption to a long-standing PGA Tour tradition, delaying the 2026 season’s start.