Why isn't The Sentry being played on the PGA Tour this week?
The PGA Tour's season will be getting underway at The Sony Open in Hawaii.
In ordinary circumstances the PGA Tour would be kicking off their 2026-2027 campaign this week in Hawaii.
The Sentry, previously known as the Sentry Tournament of Champions, was due to be contested at the Plantation Course in Kapalua, Hawaii, over 8-11 January.
But ongoing drought conditions and water restrictions made it impossible to prepare the course to PGA Tour standards.
The PGA Tour explored the possibility of relocating the event, either elsewhere in Hawaii or to the mainland.
But the circuit's agronomy team decided last October to cancel the tournament and scrub it from the schedule.
It means that the first event of the PGA Tour season will be the Sony Open from 15-18 January at the Waialae Country Club in Honolulu.
The Sentry, which relocated from California to Maui in 1999, was the PGA Tour's season opener between 1986 and 2013 before returning to that slot in 2024, when the Tour switched back to a calendar-year schedule.
The field at the event would have featured the top 50 players from the previous year's FedExCup standings, as well as winners of PGA Tour events from the previous year.
Recent winners include Hideki Matsuyama, Chris Kirk, Jon Rahm, Cameron Smith, Harris English, Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth.
Date | Tournament | Venue |
Jan. 15-18 | Sony Open in Hawaii | Waialae Country Club |
Jan. 22-25 | The American Express | Pete Dye Stadium Course |
Jan. 29-Feb. 1 | Farmers Insurance Open | Torrey Pines Golf Course |
Feb. 5-8 | WM Phoenix Open | TPC Scottsdale |
Feb. 12-15 | AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am | Pebble Beach Golf Links |
Feb. 19-22 | The Genesis Invitational | Riviera Country Club |
Feb. 26-March 1 | Cognizant Classic | PGA National Resort |
March 5-8 | Arnold Palmer Invitational | Bay Hill Club & Lodge |
March 5-8 | Puerto Rico Open | Grand Reserve GC |
March 12-15 | The Players Championship | TPC Sawgrass |
March 19-22 | Valspar Championship | Innisbrook Resort |
March 26-29 | Texas Children’s Houston Open | Memorial Park Golf Course |
April 2-5 | Valero Texas Open | TPC San Antonio |
April 9-12 | Masters Tournament | Augusta National Golf Club |
April 16-19 | RBC Heritage | Harbour Town Golf Links |
April 23-26 | Zurich Classic of New Orleans | TPC Louisiana |
April 30-May 3 | Miami Championship | Trump National Doral |
May 7-10 | Truist Championship | Quail Hollow Club |
May 7-10 | ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic | Dunes Golf and Beach Club |
May 14-17 | PGA Championship | Aronimink Golf Club |
May 21-24 | The CJ Cup Byron Nelson | TPC Craig Ranch |
May 28-31 | Charles Schwab Challenge | Colonial Country Club |
June 4-7 | Memorial Tournament | Muirfield Village Golf Club |
June 11-14 | RBC Canadian Open | TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley |
June 18-21 | U.S. Open | Shinnecock Hills Golf Club |
June 25-28 | Travelers Championship | TPC River Highlands |
July 2-5 | John Deere Classic | TPC Deere Run |
July 9-12 | Genesis Scottish Open | The Renaissance Club |
July 9-12 | ISCO Championship | Hurstbourne Country Club |
July 16-19 | The Open Championship | Royal Birkdale Golf Club |
July 16-19 | Corales Puntacana Championship | Puntacana Resort & Club |
July 23-26 | 3M Open | TPC Twin Cities |
July 30-Aug. 2 | Rocket Classic | Detroit Golf Club |
Aug. 6-9 | Wyndham Championship | Sedgefield Country Club |
Aug. 13-16 | FedEx St. Jude Championship* | TPC Southwind |
Aug. 20-23 | BMW Championship* | Bellerive Country Club |
Aug. 27-30 | Tour Championship* | East Lake Golf Club |
Will it The Sentry return to the schedule next year?
Last August, the PGA Tour announced that former NFL executive Brian Rolapp would be their first chief executive.
Rolapp, who will take over from commissioner Jay Monahan at the end of this year, has promised significant change to the Tour's current model.
He has formed a nine-person future competition committee that is being be led by 15-time major champion Tiger Woods.
The committee also includes PGA Tour players Patrick Cantlay, Adam Scott, Camilo Villegas, Maverick McNealy and Keith Mitchell, as well as former Valero Energy chairman and CEO Joe Gorder, Fenway Sports Group principal owner John Henry and Fenway senior adviser Theo Epstein, a former general manager of the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs
Just some changes being explored are potentially pushing back the start of the season to February to avoid clashing with the NFL.
The idea is to create a more compact, commercially aligned schedule that avoids having very few events in early January and builds momentum toward the main portion of the season.
This concept has been publicly discussed by Woods, although no official announcement has been made.
Woods told reporters before the Hero World Challenge last December that they were hopeful the changes could be adopted for the 2026-2027 PGA Tour season.
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