For decades, the PGA Tour opened in Hawaii with a familiar order. Maui came first. Honolulu followed. In 2027, that rhythm ends. Waialae Country Club will still host a January event, but it will no longer be a PGA Tour stop. The tournament will return as the Sony Championship Hawaii on PGA Tour Champions, with a $3 million purse, a 78-player field, and a 3-day format.
The shift came after the PGA Tour decided not to bring The Sentry back to Maui for 2027 following the 2026 cancellation at Kapalua, where drought conditions and a water dispute left the Plantation Course unable to host. Taken together, those moves mean Hawaii will go a season without a full PGA Tour event for the first time since Waialae settled into its winter role in 1971.
The Change Started With Maui
The first crack in Hawaii’s place on the schedule came when The Sentry dropped off the 2026 calendar. That event had long helped the Sony week by giving players a reason to stay in the islands for 2 tournaments. Once Kapalua disappeared, Waialae lost more than a neighbor. It lost the opening week structure that had made the Hawaii swing easier to sell to players, sponsors, and television. The PGA Tour then confirmed it would not return to Maui in 2027, and Waialae’s future on the main tour became much harder to protect.
Money and logistics also worked against Hawaii. Reuters reported in January that the island events had become some of the tour’s toughest weeks to stage because of distance, shipping demands, and modest attendance. The broader calendar review only added pressure. Tour leadership had been studying a leaner model with fewer top tier weeks and a later season start, which left traditional January stops exposed. In that environment, Hawaii’s appeal as a destination was no longer enough to guarantee survival on the main circuit.
Waialae Keeps Golf, But Not The Same Tournament
Waialae is not disappearing. It is changing status. The Sony Championship Hawaii will open a new chapter on PGA Tour Champions, with play scheduled for Jan. 14 to 16, 2027, and a 4-year agreement through 2030. The field will be built around the 50 and older circuit, and the event is expected to work alongside the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai.
That keeps top level professional golf in Hawaii, but on a different rung of the men’s game. PGA Tour Champions president Miller Brady welcomed the move by saying he was excited to bring the Sony Championship Hawaii to the circuit, a line that neatly framed the tournament’s new reality.
The venue remains iconic, and the Champions field should still bring names that matter. Former Waialae winners already on that circuit include Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, Jerry Kelly, K.J. Choi, and Jim Furyk. Zach Johnson, another past champion at Waialae, will also be old enough to join that tour by the time the event begins. Still, this is a different product. It will no longer be the first full-field test of a new PGA Tour season, and it will no longer bring the same mix of rookies, rising players, and current stars to Honolulu.
Hawaii Keeps The Week, But Loses The Stage
That is the sporting cost of the move. Waialae was more than a scenic stop. It was where new PGA Tour members began their year in a full-field event, where veterans tried to build early momentum, and where the season’s first real sorting out often began.
The course also carried its own history. Isao Aoki holed out from the fairway to win there in 1983, becoming the first Japanese player to win on the PGA Tour. Justin Thomas shot 59 there in 2017 and went on to set the tournament’s 72-hole record at 253. Those moments belonged to a tournament that mattered beyond Hawaii because it helped frame the season.
The charitable side remains a real reason this transition matters locally. Since 1999, Sony has contributed more than $27 million to Hawaii nonprofits, and the company has made clear that community impact remains central to the event’s future. That gives Waialae continuity and keeps January golf alive on Oahu. What it does not preserve is the tournament’s old place in the PGA Tour’s yearly rhythm. Waialae will still have palm trees, trade winds, and a leaderboard in January. What it will not have is the same level of consequence.
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FAQs
Q: Why is Waialae no longer a PGA Tour stop?
A: The schedule changed after Maui dropped away and Hawaii’s events faced bigger logistics and cost questions. Waialae stays active, but on PGA Tour Champions.
Q: Will Waialae still host golf in January?
A: Yes. Waialae will host the Sony Championship Hawaii in January 2027 on PGA Tour Champions.
Q: What replaces the old Sony Open setup at Waialae?
A: A Champions event replaces the PGA Tour stop. It is scheduled as a 3 day tournament with a 78 player field.
Q: Why was the Sony Open important on the PGA Tour calendar?
A: It became the first full field test of the season and gave January golf in Hawaii a clear identity.
Q: What famous Waialae moments does this article refer to?
A: It points to Isao Aoki’s 1983 hole out and Justin Thomas’ 59 in 2017. Those are 2 of the event’s defining highlights.
