Full Field Announced For 2026 PGA Tour Opener At Sony Open In Hawaii, But One Big Name Withdraws Due To Illness
Some eye-catching names will be present at Waialae Country Club, but one of those won't be Marco Penge, who has withdrawn due to an illness he's been fighting since November
After a two-month wait, the PGA Tour returns for 2026 with an intriguing field making its way to Honolulu for the Sony Open in Hawaii.
Taking the title as the inaugural event of the PGA Tour season, due to The Sentry being cancelled, Major winners, rookies and DP World Tour graduates are teeing it up at Waialae Country Club on January 15-18.
The Sony Open in Hawaii will serve as the opening event of the 2026 PGA TOUR Season and mark the first of 34 official events in the regular season. The 120-player field features four players inside the top 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking:2013 Sony Open in Hawaii champion… pic.twitter.com/Mf8lalgPePJanuary 9, 2026
Among them is the current US Open champion JJ Spaun, who led going into the final round of the tournament last year, eventually finishing in a share of third.
He is joined by fellow Major winners Hideki Matsuyama, Collin Morikawa, Keegan Bradley, Jordan Spieth and Brian Harman, with Ryder Cup stars Ben Griffin and Robert MacIntyre also listed in the field for Hawaii.
One notable player included is Vijay Singh, who has opted to take up PGA Tour membership for 2026.
The move has caused some reaction, with the 62-year-old last playing 10 or more events in a season back in 2017-18.
Singh, who is a three-time Major winner, is able to use his year exemption due to his status as a top-50 member on the PGA Tour's Career Money list.
Singh's last official PGA Tour start, excluding Majors, came at the 2021 Honda Classic. He also teed it up at the Sony Open that year, missing the cut
Away from the Major winners, it's also set to be a big week for those who earned their PGA Tour cards via the DP World Tour in 2025, with seven of the 10 graduates teeing it up.
These are Dan Brown, who claimed his PGA Tour playing rights after Laurie Canter joined LIV Golf at the end of December. Haotong Li, Keita Nakajima, John Parry, Kristoffer Reitan, Adrien Saddier and Jordan Smith are the remaining players who secured their cards via the DP World Tour.
In terms of who is missing from the group, Alex Noren isn't featuring in either the Sony Open or Dubai Invitational that week, while Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen is teeing it up in the latter.
Marco Penge is the other name not present, with the Englishman revealing he is battling illness.
I was meant to start my season next week in Hawaii but unfortunately i have had to WD due to a viral illness I’ve been fighting since dubai, back in November. Frustrating to put a delay on my start but im close to being fully fit again, and ill be back out there soon 🙌🏻💙January 9, 2026
Posting to his social media, Penge, who finished second in the Race to Dubai Rankings and was the top finisher in terms of the 10 PGA Tour cards, explained he had been set to tee it up at the tournament.
In the post, the three-time DP World Tour winner wrote: "I was meant to start my season next week in Hawaii but unfortunately I have had to WD due to a viral illness I’ve been fighting since Dubai, back in November.
"Frustrating to put a delay on my start but I'm close to being fully fit again, and I'll be back out there soon."
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