The PGA Tour lost Kapalua on Maui as a season opener when a water dispute left the Plantation course unplayable, and then it played the Sony Open in Honolulu for the last time to avoid having one tournament in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
But that’s hardly the end of professional golf in Hawaii.
Kapalua is back in the fold with the announcement that the Lotte Championship is moving from Hoakalei on Oahu to the Plantation course, which had hosted a PGA Tour event starting in 1999.
The Lotte Championship moves from October to March 18-21, one week after the new Nanea Cup on the Big Island that will have 95 players from the LPGA Tour and 25 players from five colleges competing concurrently in separate tournaments.
“As we continue to strengthen the LPGA Tour schedule, venues with deep-rooted heritage like Kapalua are exactly what we look for,” LPGA Commissioner Craig Kessler said.
The LPGA was at Kapalua for one year in 2008, won by Morgan Pressel on the Bay course. The Plantation course has more than 25 years of memories, from Tiger Woods beating Ernie Els in a playoff in 2000 to Hideki Matsuyama setting the PGA Tour’s record score to par at 35 under in 2025, the final year it was played.
March also is the last month before the humpback whales — Kapalua is famous for its views of humpbacks breaching in the Pacific — head north toward Alaska.
“Kapalua is an incredible venue to showcase the beauty of Hawaii and everything that makes the islands so special,” said Allisen Corpuz, a Hawaii native and the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open champion.
The PGA Tour Champions also has a two-week Aloha swing. It picked up the Sony Championship at Waialae to go along with its Mitsubishi Electric Championship on the Big Island.
