After exploring various alternatives, the PGA Tour announced last Wednesday that The Sentry tournament will not be played in 2026, making the Sony Open in Hawaii the first event on next year’s schedule.
Due to water restrictions related to drought conditions on Maui, the tour announced in September that the Plantation Course at Kapalua would not be able to host the traditional season-opening event. After considering other potential sites for the tournament, the decision was made to not play the event in 2026.
Water restrictions related to a dispute between Kapalua Resort and Maui Land & Pineapple created a challenge to course conditions that the tour determined could not be overcome in time for the January event. Additionally, there were logistical challenges related to potentially moving the tournament. The signature event typically features the top 50 players from the FedEx Cup standings along with other tournament winners from the previous year.
Although the PGA Tour deemed conditions on the Plantation Course not up to standards to host the tournament, Kapalua announced Thursday that it would reopen for public play on Nov. 10. READ MORE
Michael Reaves, PGA of America via Getty Images
Speaking ahead of last week’s Asia-Pacific Amateur in Dubai, Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley shed further light on the club’s recently announced decision to offer Masters invitations to the winners of six historic national opens in different parts of the world – a move that means winners of the PGA Tour’s fall events no longer receive invitations.
The winners of the Scottish Open, Spanish Open, Japan Open, Hong Kong Open, Australian Open and South African Open will receive Masters invitations starting with next year’s tournament.
“International competition has always been a big part of the Masters Tournament,” Ridley explained. “That representation internationally has grown over the years to where it’s pretty much 50/50, and maybe even a few more, international players. So, we thought it was appropriate to sort of carry on that tradition and the culture that we’ve established at the Masters.
“Golf is a global game, and I think we always want to recognize that. We felt that not only were we living true to our values, but … maybe just as this championship has inspired young amateurs around the Asia-Pacific region, we hope that that incentive of awarding the winners an invitation, a spot in the Masters Tournament as well as the Open Championship, would also generate additional interest in those countries. I know that in Japan, recently, that was the case. I think it will be the case in all these countries. So we are very excited about that change in our qualifications.”
Ridley and R&A chief executive Mark Darbon also addressed fan behavior at last month’s Ryder Cup during their joint news conference in Dubai. “I don’t think that anyone was particularly happy with what happened [at Bethpage Black] this year,” Ridley said. “I think it just reminds us, as custodians of the game, the responsibility that we have to perpetuate its underlying values. And I think hopefully that this is something we’re going to focus on more, and because that’s part of what makes golf special is that it is a different sort of set of rules, if you will. It’s something I think we need to work on, and it’s something I think I hope everyone involved with the game will reflect on.”
Added Darbon: “There are very few sports that succeed anywhere around the world without a strong following and passionate supporters. But one of the things that defines golf … is there’s real strength in the values of the game. They are so critical. They are a highly differentiating factor for us versus other sports, and they provide us with something many other sports would crave. Without them, it will become much harder to grow this game.” READ MORE
Yani Tseng, the five-time LPGA major winner and former world No. 1, scored her first victory in more than a decade on Sunday, winning the Ladies European Tour’s Wistron Ladies Open in her native Taiwan.
Tseng captured the weather-shortened event by four strokes with rounds of 63-67 at Sunrise Golf & Country Club.
“I’ve been waiting for this trophy for so long,” Tseng said. “To win this tournament in my home country and in front of my family and friends is amazing. I’ve been really emotional from this win, and just shows you should never give up on your dreams.”
Tseng has battled the yips in recent years but has regained form by putting left-handed. Earlier this year, she qualified for her first U.S. Women’s Open in nine years. READ MORE
A new PGA Tour tournament, the Good Good Championship, will debut in the 2026 FedExCup Fall at Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa’s Fazio Canyons Course in Austin, Texas, the tour and influencer brand Good Good Golf announced last Monday.
The inaugural tournament, slated for the week of Nov. 9-15, 2026, will feature a 120-player field with 500 FedExCup points awarded to the winner. In related news, Golf Channel’s reality series “Big Break” will return in August 2026 in partnership with Good Good Golf. The winner will receive a sponsor exemption into the Good Good Championship. READ MORE
Tap-Ins
Will Zalatoris, who has undergone two back surgeries since his maiden PGA Tour victory in 2022, is expected to play in the DP World Tour’s Nedbank Golf Challenge in December as he eyes a return to full-time competition next year. Zalatoris’ most recent start was at the 2025 PGA Championship. READ MORE
TGL, the indoor golf league spearheaded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, will unveil a series of enhancements for its second season, which starts Dec. 28. Enhancements include a renovation of the green complex inside the SoFi Center, the league’s home arena in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida; updated virtual hole designs and customized hole designs for each of the six TGL teams; improved graphics within virtual holes; larger hitting boxes; and relocated ball-tracking camera towers for improved fan sightlines. READ MORE
Lee University senior Drew Zielinski earned a sponsor exemption into the PGA Tour’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship next month by virtue of winning the Golfweek Fripp Island to Bermuda Invitational. READ MORE
Compiled by Mike Cullity