00:00For the first time in 26 years, the PGA Tour season will start somewhere other than Kapalua
00:06Golf Resort on the Hawaiian Island of Maui. A drought and a water dispute has forced tournament
00:12officials to leave Kapalua, and a replacement site has yet to be found.
00:19The PGA Tour has started every season on the wide, lush green fairways of the plantation course
00:26at Kapalua since 1999. The Kapalua website now shows images of a baked and brown golf course
00:35due to lack of irrigation. Tour officials said there was no way to get the course ready for the
00:40Century Tournament, scheduled to be held January 8th through the 11th. Tour CEO Brian Rolap said
00:47in a statement, the PGA Tour has determined the 2026 playing of the Century will not be contested
00:54at the plantation course at Kapalua due to ongoing drought conditions, water conservation requirements,
01:00agronomic conditions, and logistical challenges. The $20 million Century Tournament is one of the
01:07Tour's signature events and invites every PGA Tour winner from the previous season, plus the top 50
01:13in the FedExCup standings to play. Cam Davis described the scene during the 2025 event.
01:20It couldn't be much better. I mean, it's great having these massive wide fairways to hit at and,
01:24you know, the amazing views that kind of take a second and look at a lot throughout the round. But,
01:30yeah, it's just a nice relaxing. Well, it's not as relaxing anymore now. It's turned into a really
01:35big event. At the same time, yeah, it couldn't be much better. A severe drought on Maui has led to
01:41water shortages and restrictions, which prioritized the 144,000 residents on the island. But the owner of the
01:49Kapalua Resort blames the local water management company for ruining the golf course. Billionaire
01:55Tadashi Yanai is suing Maui Land and Pineapple, claiming the company failed to maintain the
02:00century-old ditch system that supplies water to West Maui from the mountain.
02:05That disrepair, not any act of God or force of nature or other thing, is why users who need it
02:12are currently without water. The lawsuit says Maui Land and Pineapple said it has made repairs and
02:19improvements to the ditch system as directed by county officials. Kapalua Resort says the tournament
02:24has a $50 million economic impact on the area. A new venue has yet to be found. The tour's second
02:31event in 2026, the Sony Open at the Wai Lai Country Club in Honolulu, will go on as planned.
02:38For Straight Arrow News, I'm Chris Francis.
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