MIAMI, May 20 (UPI) — The second golf major of the PGA Tour season, NBA conference finales and the NHL’s Stanley Cup playoffs lead the weekend sports schedule. Auto and horse racing events and soccer and baseball games also fill the slate.
Boxing and UFC title fights and the start of the 2022 French Open tennis grand slam tournament also take place this weekend.
But golf’s 2022 PGA Championship, the Preakness Stakes and hockey and basketball playoff games most likely will draw the most attention.
The PGA Championship teed off Thursday and runs through Sunday at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.
PGA Championship
A 156-player field descended on the Southern Hills Championship course Thursday morning to battle for a $2.16 million first-place prize and the PGA Championship’s Wanamaker Trophy.
Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the Official World Golf Ranking, and No. 2 Jon Rham are the favorites to win the four-day tournament.
The second round will air from 2 to 8 p.m. EDT Friday on ESPN. The third and fourth rounds will air Saturday and Sunday, respectively, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on ESPN and from 2 to 7 p.m. on CBS.
No. 9 Justin Thomas, No. 7 Rory McIlroy, No. 8 Jordan Spieth are among the other Top 5 favorites to win the title.
No. 3 Collin Morikawa, No. 4 Cameron Smith, No. 5 Patrick Cantlay, No. 12 Dustin Johnson, No. 6 Viktor Hovland and No. 10 Xander Schauffele also are expected to contend at Southern Hills.
Preakness Stakes
The 2022 Preakness Stakes, the second leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown, will be run Saturday at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.
Kentucky Derby runner-up Epicenter is the favorite to win the 1 3/16-mile event. Rick Dawson, the owner of Derby winner Rich Strike, declined to enter the colt in the Preakness so the horse could get more time to rest and recover for the June 11 Belmont Stakes.
Early Voting, Secret Oath, Simplification and Creative Minister are among the other favorites to win the Preakness.
Early coverage of the Preakness will air from 2 to 4 p.m. EDT on CNBC. Coverage then will then shift to NBC from 4 to 7:30 p.m. from Pimlico. The race is expected to start at 7:01 p.m.
NBA playoffs
The NBA’s Eastern Conference and Western Conference finals started this week and run through next week to determine which two teams will meet in the 2022 NBA Finals.
The Golden State Warriors will host the Dallas Mavericks in Game 2 of their best-of-seven Western Conference series at 9 p.m. EDT Friday at Chase Center in San Francisco. That game airs on TNT.
Stephen Curry scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Warriors to a 112-87 win in Game 1 of the series Wednesday at Chase Center.
Game 3 of the Warriors-Mavericks series will be at 9 p.m. Sunday in Dallas. That game also airs on TNT.
The Boston Celtics will host the Miami Heat in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals at 8:30 p.m. Saturday on ABC. Game 4 of that series will be Monday in Boston and air on the same network.
The NBA Finals are scheduled to start June 2.
Weekend schedule (all times EDT)
Friday
Golf
PGA Championship: Second round from 2 to 8 p.m. on ESPN
Soccer
La Liga: Levante at Rayo Vallecano at 3 p.m. on ESPN+
La Liga: Real Betis at Real Madrid at 3 p.m. on ESPN+
MLB
Cardinals at Pirates at 6:30 p.m. on Apple TV+
Rangers at Astros at 8 p.m. on Apple TV+
Stanley Cup playoffs
Game 2: Rangers at Hurricanes at 8 p.m. on ESPN
Game 2: Oilers at Flames at 10:30 p.m. on ESPN
NASCAR
Truck Series SpeedyCash.com 220 at 8:30 p.m. on FS1
NBA playoffs
Game 2: Mavericks at Warriors at 9 p.m. on TNT
Saturday
Golf
PGA Championship: Third round from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on ESPN; from 2 to 7 p.m. on CBS
NASCAR
Xfinity Series SRS Distribution 250 at 1:30 p.m. on FS1
Horse racing
Preakness Stakes: Early coverage from 2 to 4 p.m. on CNBC; main coverage from 4 to 7:30 p.m. on NBC
Soccer
Serie A: Juventus at Fiorentina at 2:45 p.m. on beIN Sports
Ligue 1: Metz at PSG at 3 p.m. on beIN Sports
MLS: LAFC at Columbus at 3:30 p.m. on TUDN and Twitter
MLS: Toronto at DC United at 4 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: New England at Cincinnati at 6 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: Atlanta at Nashville at 7:30 p.m. on Fox
MLB
Braves at Padres at 4 p.m. on FS1
Stanley Cup playoffs
Game 3: Avalanche at Blues at 8 p.m. on TNT
NBA playoffs
Game 3: Heat at Celtics at 8:30 p.m. on ABC
UFC on ESPN+
Eryk Anders vs. Park Jun-yong at 7 p.m.
Polyana Viana vs. Tabatha Ricci after first fight
Chidi Njokuani vs. Dusko Todrovic after second fight
Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Michael Pereira after third fight
Holly Holm vs. Ketlen Vieira after fourth fight
Boxing
Main event: Janibek Alimkhanuly vs. Danny Dignum at 10 p.m. on ESPN+
Main event: David Benavidez vs. David Lemieux at midnight on Showtime
Sunday
Tennis
French Open: First round from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tennis Channel; from 1 to 45 p.m. on NBC/Peacock
Formula 1
Spanish Grand Prix at 9 a.m. on ESPN2
Golf
PGA Championship: Final round from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on ESPN; from 2 to 7 p.m. on CBS
Soccer
Premier League: Everton at Arsenal at 11 a.m. on Peacock
Premier League: Watford at Chelsea at 11 a.m. on Peacock
Premier League: Manchester United at Crystal Palace at 11 a.m. on Peacock
Premier League: Wolves at Liverpool at 11 a.m. on Peacock
Premier League: Aston Villa at Manchester City at 11 a.m. on Peacock
Premier League: Tottenham Hotspur at Norwich at 11 a.m. on Peacock
Serie A: Sampdoria at Inter Milan at noon on beIN Sports
La Liga: Atletico at Real Sociedad at 4 p.m. on ESPN+
La Liga: Villarreal at Barcelona at 4 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: Salt Lake at Montreal at 4 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: Vancouver at Charlotte at 5 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: Chicago at NYCFC at 5 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: New York Red Bulls at Miami at 6 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: Minnesota at Dallas at 7 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: Kansas City at San Jose at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: Orlando at Austin at 8 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: Seattle at Colorado at 8 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: Houston at Los Angeles Galaxy at 8 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: Philadelphia at Portland at 10 p.m. on FS1
MLB
Cardinals at Pirates at 11:30 a.m. on Peacock
Athletics at Angels at 4 p.m. on FS1
White Sox at Yankees at 7 p.m. on ESPN
Stanley Cup playoffs
Game 3: Panthers at Lightning at 1:30 p.m. on TNT
Game 3: Hurricanes at Rangers at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN
Game 3: Flames at Oilers at 8 p.m. on ESPN2
NASCAR
Cup Series All-Star Race at 8 p.m. on FS1
NBA playoffs
Game 3: Warriors at Mavericks at 9 p.m. on TNT