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The year has started off in a fairly low gear on the PGA Tour. This isn’t another rambling on the slow-play issue, though, it’s been slow in the sense that very few of the big names have managed to get themselves into the winners’ circle.

Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott, Phil Mickelson and many more of the top names have all been posted missing since the start of the year and that’s one thing that will be worrying those in charge at the PGA Tour.

There’s no denying that the players that have won so far this year are really good players, they’re just not household names, not good for attracting tournament sponsors to the game, not good for television viewing figures, either.

Their tournaments are full of the game’s top names, but what do they do when these players aren’t winning?

That’s the crux of the matter when it comes to the PGA Tour. It’s about maximising potential for growth, and the lack of effervescent characters winning tournaments is harming that potential.

Sure, Bubba Watson, Zach Johnson and Matt Kuchar have all won, but, Watson aside, the players that really draw in the crowds and make the game exciting to watch haven’t stepped up to the plate yet.

No matter what people say, seeing the big names contending for tournaments on a Sunday is one of the best and most effective ways to get people interested in the game. From a personal point of view, I’d much rather watch Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson battling it out down the closing stretch than two players ranked well outside the top-100 in the world rankings, I’m certain I’m not alone in that one.

Here in lies the problem for the PGA Tour. Their tournaments are full of the game’s top names, but what do they do when these players aren’t winning? How do they continue to make the game interesting to the wider population when people who are not interested in golf have never heard of the players winning? The tour is definitely in need of a big winner, there’s no doubt about it. It’s a really tough one for the tour and they’ll be hoping it turns itself around very soon.

Is the PGA Tour missing the big names?

Do you agree with Craig Dennett? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

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