Opinion: PGA Tour deserves praise for 2024-25 PGA Tour winners eligible for The Heritage

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When the PGA Tour announced in the fall that they would not open the 2026 season in Maui due to a water shortage issue, my opinion at the time was it would have still been interesting to watch PGA Tour players play golf on a very dry course and be challenged by the weather conditions.

As a result, the PGA Tour season will begin a week later than normal. It will officially commence with the Sony Open in Honolulu starting Thursday.

The other question golf fans had is what would the PGA Tour do as a replacement for the special uniqueness of the Sentry Tournament of Champions? This tournament contains all of the golfers from the previous year who are champions on the tour. Well, we found out this week according to Ryan Hannable of Bet MGM, that all of last year’s winners will be now eligible to compete at The Heritage, the PGA Tour stop in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, which takes place one week after the Masters. The PGA Tour deserves praise for giving last year’s champions an automatic berth in qualifying for this PGA Tour stop.

What makes the Hilton Head Island course so majestic is the lighthouse that can be seen in the background. The landmark has become synonymous with the course itself. Champions of the Heritage every year are awarded a plaid jacket and the tournament is part of the PGA Tour’s signature series. This is a week after the Masters champion is given a green jacket. Recent winners include Justin Thomas of Louisville, Kentucky and Scottie Scheffler of Ridgewood, New Jersey.