The PGA Tour are making changing changes and The Sentry will not be played in Kapalua in January – but things are far from clear cut, particularly with decisions from the likes of Rory McIlroy on how and where he plays his golf moving forward
Rory McIlroy has announced plans to start his 2026 season with back-to-back weeks in the UAE for the Dubai Invitational and the Hero Dubai Desert Classic.(Image: 2025 Jason Butler)
The official reason for cancelling the first PGA Tour event of next year is a water shortage on the island of Maui. But the absence of Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood, the December start date of the TGL season and the expense of staging events in Hawaii have also contributed to the delayed start of the 2026 season.
The PGA Tour announced last month that The Sentry would not be played at The Plantation Course at Kapalua from January 8-11 because “ongoing drought conditions and related challenges”. A site visit concluded that the conditions “made it impossible to guarantee TOUR-standard playing conditions”.
Now the Tour has announced there has not been enough time to find a new venue and the season will now start a week later at the Sony Open. The reason for not playing elsewhere was “logistical challenges — including shipping deadlines, tournament infrastructure and vendor support”.
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But with many big names already opting not to play The Sentry, the cost and hassle of staging the event at a new venue has now been ruled out.
Masters champion McIlroy confirmed on Wednesday that he will start his 2026 season at the Dubai Invitational on January 15 before playing the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. The world No.2, who is leading the Race to Dubai this season, has played in either Dubai or Abu Dhabi in January for the past five years. FedEx Cup winner and Ryder Cup hero Fleetwood – one of the most popular players on the PGA Tour – will also be there.
“Starting my year in the UAE has always been my preference,” said McIlroy. “I’ve had so many great weeks there, and I’m sure Dubai next January will be no different.
He last played The Sentry – formerly the Tournament of Champions – in 2019 and said in 2023: “I’d say my schedule will look pretty much the same as it did this year. I’ll most likely – I’m not a huge Hawaii guy, so I’ll probably not go to Hawaii.”
McIlroy missed three Signature events this year and the first event of the play-offs, the FedEx St Jude Championship. And at the BMW PGA at Wentworth last month, he said he will follow Roger Federer’s example by playing new events in different locations for the rest of his career. The five-time Major winner, 36, played in India for the first time last week and will go to Australia in December.
Rory McIlory says he’s ‘not a big Hawaii guy'(Image: Richard Heathcote, Getty Images)
The second season of TGL (Tomorrow’s Golf League) – the indoor events co-created by McIlroy and Tiger Woods – will start on December 28 and will stage matches every Monday or Tuesday in January. It will make getting to Hawaii for a Thursday tee time very difficult.
The contract to stage the Sony Open ends in January. The Sentry has been the PGA’s season-opening event since 1986. Sentry Insurance became the tournament’s title sponsor in 2018. And tournament sponsors have expressed a commitment to the event but without mention of Hawaii.
“The Sentry is a jewel in the PGA TOUR schedule,” said Stephanie Smith, chief marketing and brand officer aat Sentry. “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.”
Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods, the brains behind the TGL(Image: 2025 Mike Ehrmann/TGL)
The first $20m signature event of 2026 – which should be the best early field of the year – will now be at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on February 12 – a week after the launch of the new LIV Golf season on February 5. The limited-field Signature events were invented to bring all the best PGA Tour players together and increase the prize money after the formation of the Saud–backed league. But players such as McIlroy now don’t need the money.
Tiger Woods is chairing a Future Competition Schedule to address such issues and try to find a formula good for players, the PGA Tour and sponsors. Cancelling the first event of the year is not a good look.
The new PGA Tour chief executive Brian Rolapp said in August: “The goal is not incremental change. The goal is significant change.”
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