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Daily Smile

[{"type":"text","text":"\"When my husband asks me what we did today...\""}]

Smile 26 1 10

<title>Daily Smile: Saturday, January 10, 2026</title>

"When my husband asks me what we did today..."

Daily Smile: Saturday, January 10, 2026

 &quot;When my husband asks me what we did today...&quot;

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta Headshot

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Food & Dining

There’s a new Okinawan soba spot in Honolulu.

 is located in Eaton Square. The business opened earlier this year, and focuses on Okinawan soba.

The signature Okinawan soba dish features chewy wheat noodles in a pork-bonito broth. It’s topped with braised pork belly, a marinated egg, bonito flakes, red ginger and scallions.

The noodles have a nice chewy consistency. Okinawan soba is different from Japanese soba in that it features a thicker wheat-based noodle (instead of buckwheat). The broth is flavorful and comforting.

The soba itself is $9.50, but you can get the combo with a traditional seasoned rice bowl for $12.95.

Other menu options include tan tan Okinawan soba (rich sesame broth with spicy ground pork, chashu and bok choy), rice with savory Nikumiso (steamed white rice with a savory minced pork topping).

Customers can choose to dine in or takeout; the shop has limited counter seating. There are several tables in the courtyard outside the noodle shop.

Mahalo Noodle Waikīkī is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Mondays to Saturdays (closed Sundays). Street parking or public parking in the Eaton Square lot are available.

Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays (closed Sundays)

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

Mahalo Noodle soba bowl 061126

<title>Mahalo Noodle Waikīkī offers Okinawan soba</title>

The eatery focuses on Okinawan soba, which includes a wheat-based noodle instead of buckwheat. Other menu items include tan tan Okinawan soba and traditional seasoned rice bowls.

Mahalo Noodle Waikīkī offers Okinawan soba

Katie Helland Headshot

Katie Helland

Arts & Entertainment

Business & Tourism

t has announced its next director and CEO, David Odo, who will start on Sept. 1.

Odo, who grew up in Kailua, is currently the director and chief curator at the Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia. There he oversees institutional vision and strategy, as well as fundraising, collections, educational direction, and more. 

Under Odo’s leadership, the Georgia Museum of Art had paid membership increase 67%, donors grow 8% and overall museum revenue increase 141%, according to numbers shared by HoMA.

“David brings the experience, vision and leadership that HoMA needs as we prepare to enter our second century,” said Amber Strong Makaiau, chair of HoMA’s board of trustees, in a written statement. “His record of strengthening museums through thoughtful strategic growth, sound institutional stewardship, and meaningful community engagement gives us every confidence that he is the right leader for HoMA at this important moment in our history. His understanding of Hawai‘i and international experience uniquely position him to lead the museum forward.”

, who led the museum for about a year, and former director 

, who led it for five years, from 2020 to 2025, before becoming director at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.   

He is the son of Franklin Odo, who helped found the 

 at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

Previously, he held leadership positions at Harvard Art Museums and Yale University Art Gallery

“I am honored to work alongside the Honolulu Museum of Art’s talented team, trustees, members, supporters, educators, and community partners at this important moment in its history,” said Odo, in a written statement. “HoMA holds a world-class collection, deep civic roots, and a community that has claimed it as its own for nearly a hundred years. What excites me is honoring that legacy while boldly positioning the museum for its next century.”

Founded in 1927, HoMA has more than 55,000 works for art from around the world. As a middle school student, Oda remembers being drawn to the sculptures in the Buddhism gallery.

“They sparked my curiosity about world religions,” he said, in a written statement. “That’s one of the things I love about art museums — they hold so much possibility to encourage one’s interest in a limitless number of subjects, and I’m excited to continue that legacy for others in our community.”

HoMA is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, with extended hours until 9 p.m. on Fridays. Admission is $15 for kamaʻāina. It is free for youth 18 years old or younger, as well as college students attending Hawaiʻi state universities or colleges, and SNAP beneficiaries. 

David Odo

<title>HoMA announces new director and CEO</title>

The Honolulu Museum of Art has announced its next director and CEO, who will assume the role on Sept. 1. Learn more about the executive, who grew up in Kailua.

HoMA announces new director and CEO

Square Mike Brestovansky Headshot RGZ3736 Large

Michael Brestovansky

Government & Politics

Crime & Courts

A civil complaint alleging that Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke violating campaign spending laws will go to the state Attorney General for potential prosecution.

Last week, the Hawai‘i Campaign Spending Commission published a 

 accusing Luke and her campaign team of 12 different violations of campaign finance laws during the 2022 election.

On Wednesday, the Commission moved to refer their complaint to the state office of the Attorney General, which is already conducting a separate investigation into financial impropriety by Luke, tied to the infamous 

 that was the subject of an FBI investigation.

The commission’s complaint accuses Luke, her husband Michael Luke, campaign treasurers Emmanuel Zibakalam, Leodoloff Asuncion Jr., and Matthew Sasaki, deputy treasurer Kalowena Komeiji, and the Friends of Sylvia Luke of mishandling campaign funds.

The complaint includes allegations that Luke signed checks for her candidate committee instead of a treasurer, that her treasurers signed checks for the committee despite no longer being listed as treasurers — some of which were to the former treasurers themselves — and that the group failed to accurately report campaign expenditures to the commission.

The complaint concluded with two options: either the Commission concludes that a violation of law likely took place and refer the matter to the Attorney General; or the Commission makes its own preliminary determination, fines Luke and her associates $28,300 and orders them to correct their campaign spending reports within 20 days. 

On Wednesday, the Commission voted for the former option. The vote was unanimous, although Commission Vice Chair Danton Wong recused himself from proceedings Wednesday, citing a conflict of interest based on prior donations he made to Luke.

Eunice Park, general counsel for the Commission, said the extent of the alleged impropriety cannot be attributed to technical errors, particularly given Luke’s extensive political career. She said Luke had “ample opportunity” to correct the violations in the four years since her election, but did not.

Attorney David Louie, who represents Luke and the Friends of Sylvia Luke, spoke briefly before the Commission, but only to decline comment.

Fellow Attorney Randall Hironaka, representing Michael Luke, Komeiji and Sasaki, asked the Commission if his clients could be left off the complaint because, he said, the complaint does not allege any criminal activity by his clients, merely that untoward activity was made without their authorization.

Nonetheless, Park told Hironaka that it will be up to the Attorney General to determine the criminality of anyone named in the complaint.

Luke’s campaign finances from 2022 have come under heavy scrutiny this year as fallout continues from an FBI corruption investigation.

That investigation had previously alleged that former Hawai‘i Rep. Ty Cullen — who had turned informant for the agency — oversaw a transaction between an unknown man and “an influential state legislator” involving the $35,000 in 2022. In February, Luke denied any involvement in that transaction, but admitted that she had accepted two $5,000 checks during a 2022 dinner with former Cullen.

That admission — Luke claimed she never cashed the checks, but never reported the contributions — led to further investigations of Luke’s 2022 campaign finances. In the midst of the furor, Luke 

 in April she will not run for reelection this year, and days later 

 she would take an indefinite leave of absence, which has continued to this day.

DavidLouie

<title>State AG to investigate alleged Sylvia Luke campaign finance violations</title>

A complaint by the Campaign Spending Commission alleging 12 campaign finance violations has been referred to the state Attorney General for possible prosecution.

State AG to investigate alleged Sylvia Luke campaign finance violations

Christian Shimabuku Headshot

Christian Shimabuku

Sports

[{"type":"text","text":"LAS VEGAS — What does money do to a man? "}]

Conor McGregor has earned lots of it during his rocketship to superstardom, a rise to prominence that began with the UFC in 2013. 

In 2021, Forbes named him the world's highest-paid athlete after he earned $180 million following the sale of a majority stake in his Irish whiskey company, Proper Twelve. In 2018, he was ranked fourth after taking home $99 million, a chunk of it coming from his 2017 boxing megafight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. 

On Saturday, McGregor will make the walk against 

 for the main event of UFC 329. It will have been five years since McGregor stepped in an octagon, his most recent bout cut short due to a leg fracture against Dustin Poirier on July 10, 2021. 

 just as easily as the cash. Perhaps his most publicized transgression with the law was when an Irish court found him liable of sexual assault in 2024 for a 2018 incident in a Dublin hotel with a woman named Nikita Hand. McGregor's appeal was denied in 2025, and he was still required to pay the equivalent of $257,000 in damages. 

In spite of the ruling, the UFC welcomed McGregor back with open arms. On Wednesday, about 100 journalists from all over the world mobbed McGregor when he made his media day appearance at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. For many, it was the first chance to speak to McGregor following his half-decade hiatus as a fighter. One of the the first questions asked was whether his money became detrimental to him. 

"Obviously," McGregor admitted. "Obviously. You know, 2017 double weight (UFC) world champion, Floyd Mayweather bank. And then I launched an Irish whiskey. I didn't drink heavily, if at all, in that time of my life. I was an athlete at the top of my game. Next thing you know, thousands of thousands of bottles in my garage, 'Sell this, Conor.' God gave me these lessons. That's it. I was trapped and caught, and it is what it is. I trust in God. I trust in my journey, and I trusted the truth. The world is against the truth, then I am against the world, that is where I stand."

McGregor has received the full celebrity treatment during fight week. Dozens of cameras have followed his every move while the organization has promoted his return, choosing him and Max Holloway to headline International Fight Week, the UFC's signature event each summer. While McGregor remains the sport's most iconic name and face, he has lost supporters along the way. How should fight fans approach his return while grappling with his issues away from the canvas? 

"I continue to fight. I know the truth, and I know that lying lives are an abomination to the Lord, and I know that anything known in darkness will soon come to light," McGregor said when asked about the rape case. "And I trust in God that it's coming. You best believe it's coming, and I look very, very forward to the day."

McGregor, 37, had just one UFC fight under his belt when he defeated Holloway, 34, in 2013 via unanimous decision. McGregor earned a reported $24,000 for that fight, while Holloway pocketed $14,000. In a rematch 13 years in the making, money pales in comparison to McGregor's desire to return to his element. 

"The excitement is going to be off the charts on Saturday night. The performance is going to be off the charts," McGregor said. "I have some shot selection here, and some set of moments that I planned. I'm excited to showcase it."

As for Holloway, money certainly remains a motivating factor. Although UFC 329 fight purses have yet to be disclosed, Holloway is expected to earn his greatest payday yet due to the magnitude of McGregor's return. 

"I'm fighting for money. I'm a prize fighter," Holloway said. "If you wasn't fighting for money, you're an idiot, right?"

In Holloway's most notable moment as a UFC fighter, his last-second knockout of Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 in April 2024 earned him $600,000 in bonuses before he even got to his base pay for the fight. 

The victory over Gaethje opened new doors for Holloway as the 

. With Gaethje earning the UFC's lightweight belt with a stunning TKO over Ilia Topuria on June 14, Holloway knows his options are plentiful if he secures an exciting victory on Saturday. 

"Who would have thought that Conor was even coming back after what happened with the injury? It's just big," Holloway said. "I finally get to right the wrong, and I'm looking forward to it. He's a killer, and I'm looking forward to seeing the best Conor McGregor on July 11, and hopefully I get a SportsCenter No. 1 spot up there.

"This guy has unlimited money, and he has a lot of connections. Yeah, he's coming back from a crazy injury. He supposedly found God. His kids are gonna be here at the fight. ... I'm getting ready for the most dangerous Conor McGregor we ever saw, and nobody's told me otherwise."

Despite the three years of youth Holloway has on McGregor, the Wai‘anae native joined the organization a year before McGregor did. And while McGregor has sat out the last five years, Holloway has fought eight times in that span. 

Nearly every other fighter on the 329 card was asked about the bout between McGregor and Holloway, with the vast majority backing Holloway due to his activity. Others gave simpler answers.

"I'm backing Max because I like him," said former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, who will take on Nikita Krylov in the main event of the prelims. 

One of the longest running traditions in the sport has been fighters clamoring for a McGregor bout after a big win, knowing the kind of prominence and financial windfall the fight would bring. McGregor was asked about Gaethje, who said he would attend the fight on Saturday in hopes of challenging him.

"Get in the queue," McGregor replied as he brushed off a question about the UFC's new lightweight champ. 

Holloway's potential next move with a victory? Another McGregor fight to complete the trilogy. 

"I'm gonna put my paws on him, and I'm gonna make him wish that he didn't come back," Holloway said. "Actually, no, I'm not gonna make him wish that. I'm gonna make him think that he can do it one more time, so we can rematch at the end of the year."

Conor McGregor Max Holloway 070826

<title>Max Holloway, Conor McGregor take to the mic and reflect ahead of UFC 329</title>

The two mixed martial arts stars and Saturday's headliners were the main attraction of UFC 329's media day at T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday.

Max Holloway, Conor McGregor take to the mic and reflect ahead of UFC 329

Kam Napier Headshot

A. Kam Napier

Columnists

If you’re a street junkie, shooting up heroin in Chinatown, the State of Hawai‘i has your back. It’ll take our tax dollars and turn them into clean needles, so you can keep on shooting safely.

Fentanyl addict? Go for it! Chances are you’ll never get busted for public intoxication (though it’s a crime), or possession (a crime), and if you overdose, the state will once again turn tax dollars into Narcan to save your life. All your emergency rooms visits? Not to worry! “The people” have you covered with their tax dollars and inflated insurance premiums.

If you’re an alcoholic, the State of Hawai‘i just doesn’t care. Legislators drink, after all, they’re not going to go after their own Heineken and Merlot. Just don’t drink and drive, that’s the only area where we see public policy put any time and money. Everyone seems perfectly confident that ID checks at the liquor store are keeping booze out of the hands of children.

Love pot? Lucky you live Hawai‘i! Hawai‘i loves pot and Hawai‘i loves you! It’s de facto legal, based on how often you can smell pot in the open. And it’s trivially easy to go the law-abiding medical marijuana route. Tell a doctor you’re anxious, get a prescription and it’s off the pot pharmacy you go. Enjoy! After all, we’ve hashed this issue out for years now and all sensible people agree that drug prohibitions never work. You have to respect people’s choices and just legalize and tax their habit.

But if you’re a smoker who’d like to quit smoking cigarettes by going to a safer but similar alternative, this same State of Hawai‘i has just two words.

, Gov. Josh Green just signed a law that as of January 1, 2027, will ban “99.9% of disposable vapes” in Hawai‘i. Flanked by public health officials and the obligatory Child For Whom We Do This, he positively beamed with pride.

Over what, exactly? Doctor Governor Green should be aware that if harm reduction works for hard drugs, it certainly does with nicotine. The UK’s NHS (formerly known as the National Health Service), which is beloved by American Democrats as an ideal model of universal health care, has 

“In recent years, e-cigarettes have become a very popular stop smoking aid in the UK. Also known as vapes or e-cigs, they're far less harmful than cigarettes, and can help you quit smoking for good. … Many thousands of people in the UK have already stopped smoking with the help of an e-cigarette. There's evidence that they can be effective. A 2021 review found people who used e-cigarettes to quit smoking, as well as having expert face-to-face support, can be up to twice as likely to succeed as people who used other nicotine replacement products, such as patches or gum.”

Our reporter asked Green about that. He replied with skepticism, saying, “The biggest problem has been getting an entire generation … innumerable middle schoolers and high schoolers hooked,” Green said. “Society has found ways to quit traditional cigarettes through medical means, through behavioral techniques; we should lean on those.”

Does he even hear himself? He said this while signing an e-cig prohibition law. Not medical means, not behavioral techniques, no, just the ban hammer. Meanwhile, actual tobacco cigarettes, the really dangerous ones we didn’t ban, remain perfectly available.

Then Green put Lola Irvin on the spot for further comment on our question. Irvin is administrator of the state Department of Health’s Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Division. As we reported, she said adults who have concurrently used traditional cigarettes and e-cigarettes are less likely to successfully quit smoking, while young people who begin using e-cigarettes are more likely to transition to smoking traditional cigarettes.

[{"type":"text","text":"So much for harm reduction!"}]

Irvin seems unaware of the NHS findings I shared above about people successfully using e-cigs to quit tobacco cigarettes or reduce their intake. There are other studies.

Efficacy and Safety of E-Cigarette Use for Smoking Cessation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

,” for example, published in 2023 at The American Journal of Medicine. Conclusion: “Nicotine e-cigarettes were associated with increased smoking abstinence in comparison with non-nicotine e-cigarettes. Furthermore, nicotine and non-nicotine e-cigarettes increased abstinence compared with conventional smoking cessation therapies, and the absolute risk of [Serious Adverse Events] was low across all trials. Overall, these data suggest e-cigarettes appear to be more efficacious than conventional nicotine replacement or behavioral smoking cessation therapies.”

, published last November. “Nicotine e-cigarettes can help people to stop smoking for at least six months,” it concludes. “Evidence shows they work better than nicotine replacement therapy, and probably better than e-cigarettes without nicotine. They may work better than no support, or behavioral support alone, and may not be associated with serious unwanted effects.”

As for her arguments that e-cigs and vaping makes teenagers more likely to take up smoking real tobacco cigarettes, there are indeed studies that find teens given to try vices will try both vaping and smoking, sometimes in that order, sometimes the other way around. These studies find they’ll often also try pot and booze.

When you measure what youths actually do, however, the astonishing and wonderful fact is that 

peaked in 1997 at 36.4%, considerably higher than the adult rate that year of 24.7%. By 2021, the youth smoking rate dropped to just 3.8%, well below the adult rate of 11.5%.

That’s an 86% decline in just 24 years, across all ethnicities, sexes and grade levels.

And it has dropped even more since then, despite the arrival of e-cigs and vaping. As of 2024, according to the 

, just 1.4% of high school students reported any use of tobacco cigarettes.

, found that from 2022 to 2025, e-cigarette and tobacco cigarette use among youth further declined while nicotine pouch use remained low and stable.

In other words, we won the war on youth smoking, without any prohibitions at all. When our governor says that "an entire generation … innumerable middle schoolers and high schoolers" have just been "hooked" on nicotine, he is flat out lying. The exact opposite is true. 

Rather than declare victory and keep on with existing, obviously effective policies, Hawai‘i snatched a crisis from the jaws of success and enacted this ban.

Because they did so in part to “protect our keiki,” they had a student speak at yesterday's press conference, Maya Butts. The bathrooms at her school, Kalaheo High School, she said have become just “places to vape.”

That’s surely against school rules and is certainly already illegal, so this sounds like an enforcement problem to me. Except the enforcers failed to uphold existing law. Then she said:

“I’ve watched my smart, athletic friends completely lose their motivation. They got hooked on these devices that taste like candy, move on to other substances, then lose their spark altogether.”

I hate to break it to Butts, but if vaping makes her schoolmates lethargic and lazy, they aren’t vaping nicotine. They’re vaping pot.

But the ban is about more than health and protecting kids, Green said, and the text of the legislation argues. It’s about protecting the environment. In each disposable vape is a battery and these batteries are getting into the environment, they asserted, without data.

Setting aside the fact that I’ve never seen the gutters lined with thrown-away vapes the way one used to see cigarette butts, I’ll just note that this is the same state government that is forcing us to import batteries by the tons for our carbon-free solar future. A half-ton battery in every EV. Batteries the size of a Matson cargo container for the solar farms. All with no plan for their disposal or recycling.

OK, so if you dig into facts and find that there is no youth smoking crisis, and the stated rationalizations for the ban range from transparently bogus to logically inconsistent, what’s really going on here?

[{"type":"text","text":"Class warfare, that’s what."}]

Vaping nicotine is, by and large, a lower-middle class and working-class vice. Construction laborers, single moms working two or three jobs, people who ride the bus. People who rent. They have ambitions and aspirations constantly thwarted by Hawai‘i high cost of living and ridiculously unnecessary housing shortage.

They’re tired, they’re stressed. They turned, at some point in their lives, to Kool Milds and Marlboro Lights to deal with it all. They know smoking is bad, though, but quitting is hard. Smoking is a pleasure, it’s a consolation. It both calms anxiety and sharpens concentration.

Then, miracle of miracles, technology gave them a better choice. Tobacco-free nicotine they can inhale for the same soothing, sensual pleasures they got from smoking, with none of the known carcinogens, none of the pilau smell.

On the other hand, we have the upper-middle class and those who aspire to that status. Your governors, legislators, health department careerists and high school faculty. People with social capital and clout, if not vast wealth beyond the equity in their home that they own. Few to none of these white-collar, college-educated professionals ever smoked, or quit years ago. They know better.

[{"type":"text","text":"They took one look at vaping and thought, in unison:"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"“That looks stupid. That looks tacky. That looks low-class.”"}]

That’s it. That’s the whole mindset. All the people who pushed this ban won’t say it, because they know how it sounds. No one wants to be seen as a snob and a Karen, they want to hide that. So they prop up children as human shields, gin up a non-existent crisis and use health and the environment as fig leaves.

All those smiling faces at that press conference? That’s the look of people gloating in triumph.

[{"type":"text","text":"“We took something stupid away from the stupid people! Yay, us!”"}]

That’s all that happened yesterday, and Hawai‘i is a better place as a result. For them.

A. Kam Napier is editor in chief of Aloha State Daily. His opinions in Pipikaula Corner are his own and not reflective of the ASD team.

Vapes i Stock 2232713126 16x9

<title>Pipikaula Corner: Hawai‘i's fraudulent vape ban</title>

On Tuesday, Hawai‘i Gov. Josh Green signed into law a ban on "99.9% of disposable vapes." It's a move totally at odds with the harm reduction strategies the state uses for all other vices, argues ASD Editor in Chief A. Kam Napier. And it's in response to a non-existent crisis, in that teen smoking and vaping is the lowest it's ever been in a quarter century.

Pipikaula Corner: Hawai‘i's fraudulent vape ban

IMG 1445

Rick Hamada

The recent announcements of professional golf events exiting Hawai‘i unfortunately left us without a seat at the PGA table.

[{"type":"text","text":"The operative word is unfortunate. "}]

, the demise of the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua on Maui. It seemed the decision to halt the play in 2026 was based on Valley Isle water issues. The lack of water caused the deterioration of the Kapalua golf course which rendered it unplayable. This was the official explanation from Tour officials in justifying the ending of the PGA Tournament of Champions which has led off the annual PGA season since 1999.

[{"type":"text","text":"But was that the only reason? "}]

Rumors and speculation surrounded the exit of the PGA Sony Open, played at Wai‘alae Country Club on O‘ahu, when the Sentry ended and Sony, the tournament sponsor, did not renew its commitment to continue before its current contract expired. There were no water issues for Waialae; no logistical issues. But there were issues with the PGA Tour itself.

This is despite the fact that PGA golf featuring The Sony Open (and other titles) was first played in 1965 and made Wai‘alae Country Club its official home since 1971. The Sony Open personified the tradition, history, longevity, and legacy that the game celebrates. After 56 years, it came to an abrupt and unceremonious end.

I believe Hawai‘i PGA golf is the victim of the reformation of the tour and the game itself.

A benchmark in this reformulation of the professional game can be found on a golf course in Arizona. Specifically, it can be found on the 16th hole of this Arizona golf course.

That course would be TPC Scottsdale and, yes, that would be Scottsdale, Arizona.

The tournament is the Phoenix Open, better known by the sponsor's name, The Waste Management.

How can this tournament lead to the most radical and unprecedented changes in professional golf?

The game of professional golf is like no other professional sporting endeavor. It's not about teams but individuals. There are no referees, only players are trusted to know and adhere to the rules and to self-report any infractions. There is an etiquette along with expected sportsmanship during and after play that differentiates the professional game from all others. These fundamentals are ideally emulated by amateurs and there's a level of conduct expected even during casual play.

Except on the 16th hole of TPC Scottsdale during the Waste Management tournament.

It's on this stadium par-3 where all conventions are gleefully thrown out the window. The seating layout creates a 

. When the gates open, fans will make a mad dash running to the 16th hole just to get a seat. It's here where you'll find more beer and beverage sales than you will anywhere else. Music blares and everybody is up and dancing or the unrecognizable equivalent. Yes, it's a party.

Most players accept it and join in. A few take a pass on the Waste Management because it's not their favorite brand of scotch. OK, we get it. But you'll have players who will chug a beer on the tee and take their shirts off if they birdie the hole. But the most raucous and exuberant moment is when a player hits a hole-in-one. Oh dear, hide the children. The stadium erupts in screams of joy, plastic beer cups (most are full) come raining down from the stands and the players are for that incredible moment worshipped and glorified by fans. It's incredible!

It was this event, this theater that was the catalyst in the creation of LIV Golf.

Led by PGA legend Greg Norman and PGA Hall of Famer Phil Mickelson and fueled by what was considered an endless supply of Saudi money, LIV Golf wanted to, literally, change the accepted concept of professional golf.

The changes seemed rudimentary, but they weren't. LIV is Roman Numeral for 54 which is the number of holes played in a round compared to 72 holes in a PGA tournament. Less demand on a player. Players could wear shorts during tournaments. Fan participation is encouraged, and music has a presence. There was no cut — meaning if you qualified to play then you'd get paid. And getting paid was huge.

In order to give instant credibility to LIV, Norman and others lured top PGA players with guaranteed contracts in the millions of dollars. And it worked. Stars such as John Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson (all PGA Major winners) and others. Rahm reportedly was signed to a $300 million contract in 2023 and has amassed $87 million in tournament winnings. Mickelson got a $200 million deal with Koepka reportedly getting a $130 million contract. Other name players took in millions, too. 

In 2026, the death of LIV Golf was announced. World economic conditions forced the Saudis to stop the flow of billions of dollars to what had become a poor investment. LIV never caught on with fans domestically or internationally and as quickly as it began it was over. Thus, closing one of the most bizarre chapters in golf history.

But the influence of LIV on the PGA Tour was unmistakable and leads us to the demise of PGA Golf in Hawai‘i.

During the tumultuous and controversial days of LIV, the PGA Tour had to figure out a way to stop the encroachment. This led to unprecedented financial review and overhaul of tournament play and purses. It was clear the PGA Tour had to take care of loyal members who did not defect to LIV but players were concerned with the tour business model that affected their earnings.

[{"type":"text","text":"So, the PGA Tour made some changes."}]

In 2023, the tour introduced designated events which became known as PGA Tour Signature events featuring limited top ranked players competing for dramatically higher purses. This, of course, was in direct response to LIV Golf money. There are also other significant incentives but suffice it to say this was a revolutionary change.

During this time there were debates among the PGA Tour elites of how to stop LIV, to never allow this to happen again and plot a course to strengthen and evolve the professional game for the future.

[{"type":"text","text":"Fast forward to the present."}]

, "The PGA Tour has approved recommendations from the Future Competition Committee that will dramatically reshape the tour's competitive structure starting in 2028, the tour announced Tuesday. ... Among other changes, the tour's new model will include two separate series of tournaments — the PGA Tour Championship Series and PGA Tour Challenger Series — that will run concurrently during the season. The Challenger Series will be the primary pathway to the Championship Series, with golfers competing to advance to the top track, including in-season elevation with two victories.

"The PGA Tour hopes the sweeping changes will bring 'competitive clarity and heightened consequence' and 'deliver a stronger, more compelling experience for fans, players and partners.'"

[{"type":"text","text":"And here it is."}]

The restructuring of the PGA Tour schedule and the two-tier model was the death knell for the Sentry on Maui and the Sony Open on O‘ahu. 

The disparity of purses between the Championship tier and the Challenger tier is profound. Sponsors of Championship events are expected to pay a minimum of $20 million in prize money while purses on Challenger tier events are a minimum of $4 million. That 5X multiplier in funding disparity is obviously troubling for players and others.

Oh, and one of the provisions is there are no longer sponsor exemptions, meaning sponsors have no say in who they can invite to play. Naming players whom a sponsor believes is good for their business is no longer an option. The depth of name players in tournaments is compromised. If a name player is on the Challenger tour, he cannot play in a Championship tier event. And vice versa. So sponsors are in a "take it or leave it" situation.

You know why the Sentry left Maui? Because Farmers Insurance was a premier sponsor on the PGA Tour for decades. They looked around at changes and said, we're done. Sentry was installed as sponsor of the legendary event at Torrey Pines replacing Farmers Insurance.

What was really behind the water controversy at Kapalua? The course conditions recovered and, theoretically, the tournament didn't have to leave permanently. I submit the PGA Tour knew Farmers was departing, there was a need for a premium sponsor, and nobody was knocking the door down to step in. Let's end the Sentry on Maui and bring the sponsor back to the Mainland with a higher, well, everything. Again, this is not accusatory, but it is my speculative opinion.

[{"type":"text","text":"The PGA Tour threw Hawai‘i a bone."}]

There remains a PGA Champions Tour event on the Big Island the first of each year. 

The Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualālai features senior tour players who won major tournaments over the past five years and other tournament players who won over the past two years plus, yes, sponsor exemptions. It's a great tournament with a wonderful reputation among sponsors, players, fans, and the community.

[{"type":"text","text":"I mentioned the PGA Tour threw Hawai‘i a bone."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Well, that's from their perspective. "}]

My perspective is that it's a benefit for Hawai‘i given the loss of two PGA Tour events.

We fret locally about what Hawai‘i might've done wrong to lose major golf tournaments, but ASD opinion columnist Rick Hamada says that changes within the golf industry itself made the loss inevitable.

Daily Smile: Saturday, January 10, 2026

ASD Staff

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Daily Smile: Saturday, January 10, 2026

Authors

ASD Staff

Reporter

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