HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Reactions continues to pour in over the tour\u2019s decision to not have any PGA Tour events in Hawaii.<\/p>\n
Golf Analyst Mark Rolfing says the decision to pull The Sentry at Kapalua from the upcoming tour schedule was a decision the PGA didn\u2019t take lightly.However, he says it ultimately came down to the amount of revenue that can be generated.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sort of half angry and half disappointed. I don\u2019t quite understand why you would make an announcement as to what you weren\u2019t gonna do, without telling everybody what you were gonna do. All we\u2019re hearing is what we\u2019re not gonna do and that is play golf in Hawaii,\u201d said Rolfing.<\/p>\n
For nearly six decades, Hawaii was a staple on the PGA calendar with regular tournaments on Maui, Oahu and the Big Island.<\/p>\n
Rolfing says as the PGA shapes its 2027 schedule, investing resources across the Pacific became a bigger challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe PGA Tour was a not for profit organization. The NFL is for profit, the NBA is for profit, Major League Baseball is for profit. Now that it has become a for profit, they have to find bigger markets, they have to find higher television ratings,\u201d said Rolfing. \u201cFour percent of people play golf, that\u2019s not that big compared to 100 million people watching an NFL game.\u201d<\/p>\n
This past Sony Open generated $54 million in statewide economic impact, bringing in thousands of visitors \u2014 a loss that will be felt in 2027.<\/p>\n
The Sony is also the primary title sponsor for the Friends of Hawaii Charities.<\/p>\n
\u201cSony\u2019s been with us since 1998 if I\u2019m not mistaken. We generated well over $28 million, but beyond the money it\u2019s just the exposure and the focus that the Sony Open week had brought to Hawaii for so many years,\u201d said Friends of Hawaii Charities President Corbett Kalama.<\/p>\n
Rolfing added, \u201cI think Hawaii is an important global destination. It\u2019s the gateway to the other half of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
That exposure has also kickstarted a platform for local talent like Kauai native David Ishii, who won the Hawaiian Open in 1990.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you\u2019re local, it\u2019s your dream to play in the Sony,\u201d said Ishii.<\/p>\n
Ishii goes back to when he was ten years old, saying these events can leave a lasting impression on a young kid.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father took me to this tournament called the World Cup or the Canada Cup on Maui and I saw Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player for the first time and woah they use such big golf bags and they look so nice,\u201d said Ishii.<\/p>\n
Hawaii\u2019s relationship with the PGA could still have some momentum down the line.Discussions are underway with the Sony Open about a potential future spot on the PGA Tour Champions schedule.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Reactions continues to pour in over the tour\u2019s decision to not have any PGA Tour…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":745203,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[47],"tags":[307013,307012,1430,26621,227713,1456,62,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-745202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-corbett-kalama","tag-david-ishii","tag-golf","tag-hawaii","tag-mark-rolfing","tag-pga-tour","tag-sports","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116448052275553340","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/745202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=745202"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/745202\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/745203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=745202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=745202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=745202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}