The new Sony Championship golf tournament replacing the venerable Sony Open in Hawaii expects to make a “minimum $500,000 donation following the 2027 event,” PGA Tour Champions president Miller Brady said Monday.
Brady spoke at a reception at Waialae Country Club where it was also announced that the Sony Group Corporation, the PGA Tour Champions, operator IMG, and the state of Hawaii have made a four-year commitment to the event that debuts Jan. 11-16.
“We’re confident we will exceed (Sony’s old charity numbers),” Brady said.
He also praised the Japanese corporation for its loyalty to Hawaii.
“Sony could’ve made an easy decision to not continue,” Brady said. “But they wanted to be in the community.”
Paul Goydos was also on hand at Waialae. His five PGA Tour wins include the 2007 Sony Open in Hawaii, and his first win on the PGA Champions tour was at the Kapolei-hosted Pacific Links Hawai‘i Championship in 2014.
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Between cracking jokes, the popular Goydos also conveyed a serious message.
“People think of golf as an individual sport, but it’s actually a community sport,” he said. “The real story of the PGA Tour is helping people. The most important thing is the event, not the players.”
But, oh, the players.
Champions Tour stalwarts Fred Couples, 2002 Sony Open winner Jerry Kelly, Justin Leonard, John Daly, 2009 winner Zach Johnson, Davis Love III, 2006 winner David Toms, 1986 and 1987 winner Corey Pavin, Boo Weekley, Bernhard Langer and Steve Stricker all sent video messages about how excited they are that Waialae will now be a Champions stop.
“I can’t wait for 16, my favorite hole on the planet,” Kelly said.
Daly made a comment about cold beverages that drew laughs.
Brady said there won’t be a lot of changes to the course to accommodate the veteran players (as one of the shorter courses on the PGA Tour, changes aren’t needed anyway).
Maybe just one:
“We want those ropes a little closer in, because we’re friendly,” he said.
Waialae Country Club president Meredith Ching introduced tournament director Travis Steiner, who has 19 years experience with the PGA Tour, including nine years in Asia.
“We’re looking forward to riding this wave into January,” Steiner said.
The transition of the annual event at Waialae from a regular PGA Tour event to a Champions Tour event was announced in July.
The 78-player field will compete for a $3 million purse. Then most of them will fly to the Big Island to play at Hualalai, which has a contract with Mitsubishi through 2030.
In April, the PGA Tour confirmed reports from media outlets, including the Star-Advertiser, that the Sony Open would no longer be a regular event, but might become part of the Champions Tour, as part of a two-event swing with the Mitsubishi, and that The Sentry at Kapalua on Maui would not return.