HONOLULU — Hawaii’s golf season begins once more subsequent yr at Waialae Nation Membership with a PGA Tour Champions occasion known as the Sony Championship.
The PGA Tour and Sony introduced the change Wednesday, which had been anticipated since April, when the tour introduced it will not return to Maui for the Sentry, which it had held previous to the Sony Open since 1999.
The Sony Championship runs from January 14th to sixteenth, concludes Saturday, and will likely be held at Waialae, the place PGA Tour occasions have been held since 1965. The prize cash will likely be $3 million. Previous Waialae champions presently taking part within the over-50 circuit embrace Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, Zach Johnson and Jerry Kelly.
“Sony has been a fantastic accomplice to the PGA Tour since 1999, and we look ahead to beginning this new period with legends of the sport competing in a very iconic venue at Waialae Nation Membership,” mentioned Miller Brady, president of PGA Tour Champions.
This transfer will hold the philanthropic component intact. Sony has donated greater than $27 million to Hawaii nonprofit organizations since beginning as title sponsor in 1999. Hiroki Totoki, president and CEO of Sony Group Inc., mentioned that was the “prime precedence” in extending the partnership.
“We look ahead to persevering with our dedication to the state of Hawaii and welcoming again the numerous gamers and champions who’ve performed such an essential function in our historical past,” Totoki mentioned. “We benefit from the alternative to create new alternatives to deepen connections between the match, our enterprise neighborhood, and the folks of Hawaii.”
IMG was employed to run the match. Sony’s subject of 78 will doubtless be adopted by the Mitsubishi Electrical Championship at Hualalai on the Massive Island of Hawaii. It’s unclear whether or not these tournaments will alternate spots sooner or later.
