Dry Kapalua benched as 2026 opener
Water restrictions will force PGA Tour to move signature event; Masters goes Prime
Kapalua’s 18th hole with Molokai in the distance at the annual Sentry tournament (Ben Jared/PGA Tour via Getty Images)
This first casualty of the 2026 season turned out to be the first venue of the season.
Golf fans stuck at home in winter after celebrating the Christmas and New Year’s breaks will not get the annual reprieve of enjoying the tantalizing images on television of breaching whales in the blue Pacific Ocean and sweeping views of the lush island of Molokai in the distance. That’s because the Plantation Course at Kapalua Resort in Maui has been pulled from the schedule due to lack of water.
Severe drought conditions and the on-going closure of the famous Coore-Crenshaw course on Maui has led the PGA Tour announcing Tuesday that it will not be conducting its season-opening signature Sentry tournament at the Hawaiian resort.
The 2026 Sentry will have to be relocated to an as-yet-undetermined venue because of an on-going legal battle over water access between the Kapalua resort’s ownership group and the Maui Land & Pineapple Company, which cut off the course’s irrigation supply via a ditch it owns. Due to drought conditions, Hawaii State officials declared a Tier 4 restriction in late July that curtailed the passing of any water through the ditch. According to reports, that restriction was lowered to Tier 2 in late Augusta, meaning a 40 percent reduction in normal irrigation water.
The Associated Press first reported the issues in August, saying the course had not been watered since July 25 and that a lawsuit ensued over the irrigation crisis. The resort announced that it was closing its courses for two months beginning Sept. 2 to conserve water and to address the situation.
“Following discussions with the governor’s office, as well as leadership from Sentry Insurance, Kapalua Resort and Maui County, the PGA Tour has determined the 2026 playing of The Sentry will not be contested at The Plantation Course at Kapalua due to ongoing drought conditions, water conservation requirements, agronomic conditions and logistical challenges,” the tour said in a statement on Tuesday.
Kapalua’s par-73 Plantation Course has been home to the PGA Tour’s season-opening or calendar-year starting event since 1999. Previously known as the Tournament of Champions and open only to players who won a PGA Tour event in the preceding year. It opened the field up after the pandemic and with the Sentry then becoming a signature event invited winner’s as well as top-50 players from the prior year’s final FedEx Cup points list. It has a $20 million purse and no cut.
Originally played in Las Vegas in 1953 before moving to a long-term home for more than three decades at the La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, Calif., the tradition post-New Year’s opener has been held at Kapalua since 1999.
The tour is assessing various options for a substitute venue to play host to the Sentry Jan. 8-11. Alternatives could include somewhere else in Hawaii a week ahead of the Sony Open at Waialae CC in Honolulu or perhaps a venue in California or Florida.
As for the future of the Sentry at Kapalua, the ongoing water-rights dispute jeopardizes an event that draws exposure to Maui and creates economic benefits to an island that was devastated by wildfires that destroyed the nearby town of Lahaina in 2023.
According to a report in MauiNow, Tadashi Yanai, the Japanese billionaire owner of the Kapalua Plantation Course, claims that Maui Land & Pineapple failed to maintain the more than century old Honokōhau Ditch System, which has led to severe water shortages and restrictions in West Maui.
“Out of the 154 days immediately preceding the filing of this Complaint … all Plaintiffs have been restricted to using no irrigation water for 136 days, and restricted using only 40 percent of their historical irrigation water usage for the remaining 18 days,” the lawsuit said.
The future of the water system is in limbo as Maui Land & Pineapple reportedly announced last week that it has been exploring the possibility of selling or leasing its “water source and infrastructure assets.”
Fred Ridley adds another enhancement for Masters fans (Lillie Yazdi/ANGC)
Masters goes Prime time
Remember when the Masters withheld television coverage of play on the front-nine and limited the hours its worldwide “patrons” could see on their TV screens because co-founding chairman Clifford Roberts believed overexposure would dilute its special status?
The toonamint has come a long way in the 21st century.
Augusta National Golf Club chairman Fred Ridley announced on Tuesday that Amazon Prime Video will debut as a domestic broadcaster of the Masters next April, complementing the live tournament coverage delivered annually by CBS Sports and ESPN.
“Working alongside Amazon in this capacity is an exciting opportunity for the Masters Tournament and its fans,” said Ridley. “We are proud of our longstanding partnerships with CBS Sports and ESPN, who have set the highest standard for broadcast coverage of the Masters. The addition of Amazon will only further our abilities to expand and enhance how the Tournament is presented and enjoyed.”
Beginning with the 2026 Masters, two additional hours of first- and second-round coverage will be offered both both days on Prime Video, streaming live on Prime Video from 1-3 p.m. on Thursday and Friday (April 9-10) leading into ESPN’s coverage both days from 3-7:30 p.m.
CBS will air weekend coverage of the Masters as usual from 2-7 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday (April 11-12), preceded each day by live streaming coverage on Paramount+ from noon to 2 p.m.