Did tour pull the plug prematurely on Kapalua?

Plantation Course is on road to recovery with 2 months to go before cancelled Sentry

Kapalua Plantation Course 18th hole (Courtesy photo via Troon Golf)

Was the PGA Tour premature in pulling The Sentry event from the Plantation Course at Kapalua and ultimately cancelling the 2026 signature season opener?

If you look at the pictures of the golf course now, it seems clear they were.

When the PGA Tour announced on Sept. 16 that The Sentry would not be contested at the Plantation course, most took it for granted that the move — following discussions with the resort, Maui County, the Governor’s office and the sponsor Sentry Insurance — made perfect sense.

And if you looked at pictures of the course in September and learned that water was minimal on Maui, then the decision checked out.

But once you see pictures of the course last week distributed by Troon Golf and learn that the resort stopped watering the Bay Course, the sister course to the Plantation, and used that water instead to on the host site of the annual PGA Tour season opener, you could see a path where the Coore & Crenshaw design would be ready for play in January. Likely even championship play.

Plantation Course holes 10-14 (Courtesy photo via Troon Golf)

On Oct. 23, Troon, the management company for the resort’s courses, announced that the Plantation Course would reopen for play on Nov. 10.

While the statement indicated that the course was still not ready for PGA Tour-standard golf, it was unclear whether entering the rainy season would offset the Tier 3 water restrictions, which require are a 60 percent reduction in everyday water use.

Plantation Course sixth hole (Courtesy photo via Troon Golf)

Yet, pictures don’t lie. The course conditions appear in marked contrast to what they were just a month ago. It’s reasonable to think that the limited play and favorable weather conditions at the end of the year could make the course potentially ready to host a PGA Tour tournament in two months.

Why the PGA Tour didn’t wait is unclear. But in hindsight, it seems it may have been premature to pull the plug on the $20 million signature event.