Ten top-25 golfers competing as 2026 PGA season begins with Sony Open

The PGA Tour season will open a week later than expected when the Sony Open in Hawaii tees off Thursday in Honolulu.

The Sentry (previously the Sentry Tournament of Champions) has traditionally kicked off the professional golf season in the first full week of January, but the signature event was canceled this year due to drought conditions on the island of Maui.

Instead, the season opener is a more muted affair at Waialae Country Club, though 10 of the top 25 players in the Official World Golf Rankings are in the field.

Among them are U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley, 2022 Sony Open winner Hideki Matsuyama of Japan and two-time major champion Collin Morikawa, who has familial ties to the islands.

"It all started in Lahaina on Maui. That is where my grandparents were born, that's where my great-grandparents lived, and, you know, pretty much (spent their) entire lives," Morikawa said.

"It's awful to see kind of what has happened over the last, let's call it three years with the fires, seeing the loss of Front Street, obviously us not being there. ... Hopefully we'll be back. The crowd out here, the fans, the culture, I love coming out here. Like I said, it's nice to be back at the Sony Open."

The tour's Hawaiian swing is rumored to be on the chopping block if it contracts the schedule in future seasons, between the situation in Maui and the fact that Sony's title sponsorship of the Honolulu event ends this year.

"It just makes you realize, stay present this week and enjoy it as much as you can and see what kind of memories we can make. Hopefully finally find a way to win on the islands out here," Morikawa said.

Morikawa is just one of a number of big-name golfers trying to start 2026 off on the right foot after disappointing stretches. Jordan Spieth, who hasn't won a tournament in nearly four years, is playing the Sony for the first time since missing the cut in 2023. South Korea's Tom Kim fell out of the top 100 in the world after a poor 2025 season.

The top-ranked players on the property are World No. 5 Russell Henley and No. 6 J.J. Spaun, the reigning U.S. Open champion. Both were on the U.S. Ryder Cup team in September.

Back to defend his title is Nick Taylor of Canada, who forced a playoff with Colombia's Nicolas Echavarria by chipping in for eagle on the final hole of regulation and then winning on the second playoff hole.

Taylor spoke about the conditions at Waialae, a par-70, 7,044-yard track.

"Greens are receptive right now. I feel like that's always kind of early in the week here, and then if we don't get much rain the fairways really firm up," Taylor said. "The greens stay semi-receptive, but the challenge is off the tee, finding fairways. With the doglegs it's easy to chase them through and you just got to be in position.

"The course, again, is quite similar to years past."

--Field Level Media