Golf Channel Podcast with Rex & Lav: Passionate Match Play debate; excitement grows for Masters

Rex Hoggard will not miss the WGC-Match Play. Not at all. Not in the slightest. Ryan Lavner? He will, at least a little.

In this Golf Channel Podcast with Rex & Lav, the two senior writers get into a passionate debate on whether or not the PGA Tour should have eliminated the event. The passion mostly exists on Hoggard’s side as he explains why he’s glad he’s covered his final Match Play. Lavner, meanwhile, weighs both the pros and cons of the now extinct tournament.

The two also discuss the Tour’s eligibility requirements for 2024 and what stands out from the Tour’s Monday memo.

It’s also Augusta time, with the Augusta National Women’s Amateur this week and the Masters next week. Lavner will be on site for the women’s finale while Rex will be in Orlando to see how LIV players are faring in their final prep event.

Listen to the podcast above and check out the timecoded highlights below:

• (0:30): What will Rex miss from Austin … the food, of course
• (1:32): Will the WGC-Match Play be missed? Not by Rex. Not one little bit
• (7:52): Lavner details the pros and cons of the Match Play
• (12:21): Should there be a match-play event on the schedule? Just one?
• (19:38): Meanwhile, there were some impressive performances at Austin CC
• (29:57): Who is the Masters favorite now?
• (31:27): PGA Tour eligibility rules released, what stands out?
• (43:03): Rose Zhang’s time to win the Augusta National Women’s Am?
• (44:38): Rex’s dry-cleaning woes and the LIV event at Crooked Cat
• (47:21): Can’t wait for the Masters!