"The accessible pricing reflects the community-friendly nature of PGA Tour Champions, where player access and the fan experience are of the utmost importance," tournament director Travis Steiner told KHON when tickets went on sale October 21.
That line sums up the change on Kahala Avenue this January. The PGA TOUR has left Waiʻalae Country Club after six decades. The Sony Championship Hawaiʻi replaces it Jan. 11–16, 2027, and that tournament is a different kind of event. The field is smaller and the purse is a third of last year's. A daily grounds ticket now starts at $30. The tour leaving has made January golf cheaper and easier to reach for the people who live closest to the course.
Why the Tour Left a Course It Had Played Since 1965
Waiʻalae has hosted PGA TOUR golf since 1965, when the event was called the Hawaiian Open, and it became the Sony Open in Hawaiʻi in 1999. The last edition ran Jan. 15–18, 2026, with a $9.1 million purse. Chris Gotterup won it, as Aloha State Daily reported.
KHON reported in April that the PGA TOUR pointed to a redesigned schedule that would no longer open its season in the middle of the Pacific. That season was also the last year of the existing sponsorship. Hawaiʻi's other January stop had already gone. Aloha State Daily noted that The Sentry at Kapalua was canceled for 2026 because of drought conditions on Maui.
The state stepped in. KHON reported that state, PGA and Sony officials worked together on a replacement. DBEDT Director James Tokioka said Gov. Josh Green had particularly wanted the event. Tokioka told KITV that without a replacement event, Hawaiʻi risked losing the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualālai as well, because shipping golf production equipment and crews to the islands is expensive.
The deal is for more than one January. Sony, the PGA Tour and IMG have committed to hosting the Sony Championship Hawaiʻi for the next four years.
A Smaller Event With a Shorter Week
PGA TOUR Champions is the tour for professional men aged 50 and over. The first Sony Championship Hawaiʻi will have 78 players and a $3 million purse, down from $9.1 million last January. There are three competition rounds instead of four, and the final round is on a Saturday. Golf Channel will televise all three.
| Day | Date | On the course | Grounds access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday | Jan. 12 | Pro-am | Grounds passes start Wednesday |
| Wednesday | Jan. 13 | Pro-am | $30 |
| Thursday | Jan. 14 | Round 1 | $40 |
| Friday | Jan. 15 | Round 2 | $40 |
| Saturday | Jan. 16 | Final round | $40 |
The Sony Open always finished on a Sunday. This one finishes a day earlier, so Sunday, Jan. 17 has no competition. The event is also the opening tournament of the Champions tour season. The following week, the tour moves to the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualālai.
Some players have already committed. Ernie Els and Vijay Singh, two former world number ones with seven major titles between them, were among the first to say they will play. Both won at Waiʻalae during the PGA TOUR years, along with Jim Furyk, Zach Johnson and K.J. Choi, who all play on the Champions tour now. "For me it feels like home and we are ready for January," Singh said in the tournament's September announcement. The full field has not been announced.
What a Day at Waiʻalae Costs Now
The ticket prices make the clearest case that this is a more local event. The official ticket page lists the following grounds options:
- $30 for Wednesday's pro-am
- $40 per day for Thursday, Friday or Saturday
- $50 for a pass good on any one day, Wednesday through Saturday
- $100 for a weekly pass covering all four days
Children 15 and under get in free with an adult. Active-duty and retired military personnel and their dependents also get in free. That means one adult with a weekly pass can bring two children all four days for $100.
The Welo Club, the hospitality venue at the 16th hole, is the premium option. Its pro-am and hospitality tickets run $275 to $290 per day.
Paul Goydos won the Sony Open in 2007. He attended the September kickoff, and the tournament's announcement of that day quotes him on the new format.
"I think entertainment is at the heart of the Champions Tour and fans will really enjoy the altogether more relaxed vibe and seeing the players they have enjoyed watching over the years returning to compete at a venue that is so universally loved by all the players."
The Parts of the Week That Stay the Same
The event is smaller, but much of its staff and setup carries over. Rhonda Funn is director of operations, the same role she held for the Sony Open. Chris Smith, a Maui resident and former PGA Tour manager for The Sentry, is the new director of corporate sponsorships. IMG runs the tournament. It also runs the PNC Championship on PGA TOUR Champions.
Steiner said the skyboxes, the military hospitality tent, the entertainment and the food will all look familiar, and that IMG is adding new fan offerings that have not been announced yet. Pasha Hawaii, the Sony Open's official ocean transport company for decades, will keep hosting the military tent for service members and their families. Bob Harrison, chairman, president and CEO of First Hawaiian Bank, said the bank will keep the sponsorship it has held since the tournament began. Sponsor and exhibitor tents will again fill a Spectator Village.
The charity arrangement has changed. Over the PGA TOUR years, Sony gave more than $27 million to Hawaiʻi nonprofits through Friends of Hawaiʻi Charities. Aloha State Daily, citing Pacific Business News, reported in late June that the organization had closed its offices because its contract with Sony ends in January. For 2027, Sony, PGA Tour Champions and IMG have committed at least $500,000 to Hawaiʻi charities after the event. Sony CEO Hiroki Totoki said the partners expect matching donations, ticket sales and sponsorships to push that figure well higher. The beneficiaries have not been named.
Parking Has Not Been Announced
Spectator parking for 2027 has not been set. The tournament says off-site spectator parking and complimentary shuttle details "will be communicated closer to the event." Spectator lots, shuttle routes and public gate locations have not been published. Any parking plan from past Sony Open years should be treated as history until the new one is posted.
One location is confirmed. Volunteers will park at Hunakai Park and need to show a volunteer credential or uniform to get in. That lot is for volunteers only and has not been announced as public parking.
What to Do Before January
Tournament week begins Jan. 11, and a few things are already available.
- Buy tickets now if you know which day you want. Daily and weekly passes are on sale through the official tournament site. The $50 any-one-day pass is the flexible option if you'd rather pick a day once the weather forecast is out.
- Sign up to volunteer. Registration is open on the volunteer page, and volunteers get the confirmed Hunakai Park parking.
- Watch for the parking announcement. Off-site parking and shuttle details will appear on the tournament site. Hawaii News Now and KHON have both covered the tournament's transition this fall.
- Plan around a Saturday finish. The final round is Saturday, Jan. 16, and the field moves to Hualālai the following week.
Our Kahala neighborhood guide has more on the streets around Waiʻalae Country Club. For the shops and restaurants along Kahala Avenue and Waiʻalae Avenue, see our earlier look at how Kahala's storefronts are changing hands.
Tournament week has long been part of January along Kahala Avenue. If you are weighing a move to the neighborhood, or wondering how the new event might affect a home you plan to sell in the new year, Beth Chang is glad to talk through the timing with you. Let's Connect.
