Three years ago, Hideki Matsuyama hit one of the more memorable shots of the 2022 season when he smoked a 3-wood on the 18th hole in a playoff to win the Sony Open in Hawaii.

After 36 holes at The Sentry in Maui, he’s in contention to become just the seventh golfer to complete the career Hawaii double.

Chris Kirk won the Sentry last year but came up short at Waialae. It’s been since 2022 since someone completed the second leg.

Here’s a closer look at the six golfers who have won both The Sentry and the Sony Open in Hawaii in their PGA Tour careers.

Justin Thomas

Justin Thomas won the two island stops back-to-back in 2017. He later won the Sentry again in 2020.

Cameron Smith

Cameron Smith won the 2022 Sentry Tournament of Champions and the Sony Open in 2020.

Zach Johnson

Zach Johnson won his second-to-last PGA Tour victory at the 2014 Hyundai Tournament of Champions. The 2023 Ryder Cup captain also claimed the Sony Open in 2009.

Vijay Singh

Vijay Singh won the Sony Open in 2005 during a torrid stretch where he won 17 times over a three-year period (2003 to 2005).

In 2007, he opened his year with a win in the Mercedes-Benz Championship at Kapalua.

Ernie Els

Ernie Els swept the Hawaii events in 2003, then a year later he repeated at the Sony.

It was in 2003 in Maui that Els seemed finally due to win after several close calls at Kapalua: T-14 in 1997, T-10 in 1998, solo second in 2000 (after an epic duel with Tiger Woods) and T-3 in 2001.

Jim Furyk

Jim Furyk won his Hawaii Double at the then-United Airlines Hawaiian Open (now Sony) in 1996 and the then-Mercedes Championships in 2001.

The Hawaiian Open win was the second of 17 career PGA Tour wins. He won the 2001 Mercedes by a shot over another former University of Arizona golfer, Rory Sabbatini.

When Hawaii’s legislative session opens on Jan. 15, one of the first orders of business will be voting on a new fee for incoming tourists.

In a Dec. 31, 2024 memorandum, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green announced plans for “building a climate-resilient Hawaii” which would include a fee for tourists that would help fund the state’s conservation efforts.

“The administration has also been working on proposing the ‘Green Fee” to the legislature. The initiative will require visitors to pay a fee to help fund climate resilience initiatives,” the statement read. “These funds will support efforts to preserve and protect our environment and promote clean energy solutions. As a result, these efforts will help build a more resilient, sustainable Hawaii for our future generations.”

The fee would be in addition to Hawaii’s existing tourism tax — 10.25 percent with an additional 3 percent in some counties.

Initially, Green campaigned on a $50 flat fee for tourists during the 2022 election. A year later, officials proposed establishing a visitor impact fee program which would charge travelers a fee to buy a license to visit a state park, forest, hiking trail, or other state natural area. The initiative fell short and was not passed. 

At the start 2024, a bill calling for a “modest fee” for tourists that would generate more than $68 million in revenue each year and increase awareness of the impacts of climate change was introduced. Weeks later, state lawmakers chose not to pass the initiative despite devastating wildfires that ravaged Maui’s western coast mere months prior in August 2023, which resulted in more than 100 deaths and destruction of historic Lāhainā.

Hawaii is far from the only destination imposing a tourism tax. In September 2024, New Zealand nearly tripled the fee for international visitors and on Dec. 1, 2024 the Maldives began a departure tax that ensures travelers contribute to island preservation. The countries join a long list of locales – including Iceland and the Italian city of Venice – using fees to help combat overtourism.

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