TGD Newswire – This Week In Golf – No Sentry, No Problem: Chris Gotterup Opens the Season in Hawaii (Jan 19, 2026)
For the first time since the PGA Tour returned to a calendar-year schedule, the season didn’t open at Kapalua. The Sentry — the Tour’s traditional January curtain-raiser since 1999 — was canceled entirely for 2026 after ongoing drought conditions left the Plantation Course unable to host, and no alternate venue could be arranged in time. Instead, the Sony Open in Honolulu became the true season opener, and Chris Gotterup made sure it delivered anyway.
Why The Sentry Disappeared
More than 90% of Maui County was under significant drought conditions, part of a dispute over a century-old water delivery system that left the Plantation Course’s turf in no condition to host a PGA Tour event. The Tour explored other venues in Hawaii and beyond, but cited logistical issues — shipping deadlines, tournament infrastructure, vendor support — as reasons a relocation wasn’t feasible. The result: the latest start to a PGA Tour season since the Tour’s founding in 1969, with the Sony Open elevated to the season’s first event on Jan. 15-18. Players who’d only qualified for the year via The Sentry’s win-based exemption were given a spot at the RBC Heritage instead, to make up for the lost opportunity.
Gotterup Delivers Anyway
With a stronger-than-usual field on hand — four top-10 world-ranked players teed it up — Chris Gotterup closed with a 6-under 64 to finish at 16-under, two clear of runner-up Ryan Gerard. It’s Gotterup’s third PGA Tour win in as many seasons, following a rookie-year win at Myrtle Beach and last summer’s win over Rory McIlroy at the Scottish Open. That streak now trails only Rory McIlroy (eight consecutive seasons with a win) and Scottie Scheffler (four) among active players.
Gotterup’s win was built on power off the tee — he led the field in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee, overpowering Waialae’s doglegs with tee shots regularly over 330 yards — paired with clutch putting late, including makes from 20 and 25 feet on 12 and 13 to hold off a charging Gerard.
Why It Matters
The Sentry’s absence is a bigger structural story than any single tournament result — it’s the first tangible sign that climate and water issues can reshape the PGA Tour calendar itself, not just individual course conditions week to week. But the Tour still opened its season with a stacked field and a genuine title fight, which says something about the depth of competition heading into 2026: even losing a marquee signature event couldn’t make the year’s first real leaderboard feel like an afterthought.
Sources: ESPN, Golf Channel, Golf Monthly, Sky Sports, CBS Sports, GolfDigest
