The Sony Open in Hawaii will transition from a PGA mainstay at Waialae Country Club to a PGA Tour Champions event in 2027, the Tour announced Wednesday.
It has rebranded to the “Sony Championship Hawaii” with a $3 million purse for 78 players the week of Jan. 11 to 18 at Waialae. It is a four-year deal through 2030, officials told Spectrum News.
“We are excited to welcome the Sony Championship Hawaii to PGA TOUR Champions,” PGA Tour Champions President Miller Brady said in a news release. “Sony has been an incredible PGA Tour partner since 1999, and we are looking forward to beginning this new era with the legends of the game competing on a truly iconic venue in Waialae Country Club.”
Golf analyst Mark Rolfing, who resides on Maui and has been a longtime advocate for the sport locally, told Spectrum News that discussions about preserving professional golf in the Aloha State had been underway for six months.
“It’s really quite a miracle that this actually happened,” Rolfing said.
It creates a potential two-event Hawaii swing for Tour Champions — the PGA’s senior golf tour for members 50 and older — along with the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai on Hawaii Island in late January.
Competition will take place over three days, not four, per the Champions format, from Thursday to Saturday. There will be a two-day pro-am. The Golf Channel will carry all three days of the actual event.
“The PGA Tour is not playing that (Sony Championship) week. We have the week totally to ourselves,” Rolfing said. “We are starting the golf season in Hawaii, which is just, wow, I can’t even tell you how good that’s going to be. And then following it up with Mitsubishi Electric — I gotta say, Mitsubishi has been fabulous through all this, because the only week that Sony could do this was in the week that they ended up, and that meant that the Mitsubishi Electric Championship had to not start the season, it had to go second.”
The Sony dates in years beyond 2027 are not yet set, Rolfing said.
Former Sony Open winners now competing on the Champions Tour include Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, K.J. Choi, Jerry Kelly and Jim Furyk.
Hawaii will still be without a full PGA Tour event for the first time since it gained the Hawaiian Open in 1965, but Rolfing noted that Sony Opens of recent vintage had not featured many highly ranked golfers.
Sony picked up sponsorship of the event in 1999. At the 2026 Sony Open won by Chris Gotterup in January, it appeared likely that it would be the last time at Waialae as a full-fledged PGA event given an absence of answers from the Tour amid discussions of how to revamp its national schedule.
Meanwhile, Hawaii’s other longstanding PGA event, The Sentry, left Kapalua on Maui amid that course’s water rights issues and is took its sponsorship to Torrey Pines in California.
There appears to be no professional golf return on the horizon for Kapalua and Maui, but Rolfing was happy to tell volunteers and fans on Oahu that their faith was rewarded.
“I would say (to them) thanks for being so strong. I mean, nobody gave up, nobody quit,” Rolfing said. “The governor (Josh Green) didn’t give up, Jimmy Tokioka (at) the Department of Business and Economic Development didn’t give up. There was a lot of times where everybody could have thrown in a towel. … If you look at golf on Oahu, I’m kind of looking at this like Sony really has saved it.”
He added that it was especially remarkable that the company was willing to do so after “the rug was pulled out” from under it with the PGA’s scheduling changes.
Hiroki Totoki, President and CEO of Sony Group Corporation, said in the news release: “We are delighted to continue Sony’s longstanding commitment to Hawaii and to the meaningful economic, charitable and community impact that professional golf brings to the region. Supporting and giving back to the Hawaii community remains our highest priority. Since 1999, the Sony Open in Hawaii has provided our clients and guests with a unique opportunity to experience the spirit of Hawaii alongside world-class golf competition. As we transition to PGA Tour Champions, we look forward to continuing our commitment to the State of Hawaii, deepening our connection with the people of Hawaii.”
Said Green in the release, “Welcoming the Sony Championship Hawaii to Waialae is more than hosting a world-class golf event — it’s an opportunity to showcase the spirit of aloha and strengthen the community impact that has uplifted our islands for decades. We are proud to see this next chapter unfold and grateful for partners who share our commitment to Hawaii’s people and future. Mahalo to the PGA Tour Champions and Sony Group Corporation leadership for perpetuating professional golf in the Hawaiian Islands.”
Note: This story has been updated with details and quotes.
Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.