MIAMI, July 15 (UPI) — The 150th edition of golf’s British Open, the MLB Draft and two NASCAR races top the menu of must-see sports events this weekend.
Dozens of soccer games, regular-season MLB matchups and boxing and UFC fights also will air this weekend.
But the Old Course at St. Andrews, the world’s oldest golf course, will likely draw the most viewers. Golf’s elite players teed off Thursday in St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland. The four-day major tournament will end Sunday. The winner will earn a tournament-record $2.5 million.
Fifteen-time major champion Tiger Woods, No. 2 Rory McIlroy, No. 7 Justin Thomas, No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and No. 12 Jordan Spieth are among the top players in the 160-player field.
British Open
McIlroy is favored to win the British Open title. He carded a 6-under par 66 over his first 18 holes and was in second place when he went into the clubhouse Thursday in Scotland. American Cameron Young held the first-round lead at 8-under par.
No. 5 Xander Schauffele, No. 3 Jon Rahm, Spieth and Scheffler are among the other expected contenders for the Claret Jug. Thomas, No. 22 Shane Lowry and defending champion Collin Morikawa (No. 8) also should contend for the major title.
The tournament will air throughout the weekend on the NBC streaming service Peacock, USA Network and NBC.
NASCAR
Two NASCAR races will be held this weekend in Loudon, N.H. The Xfinity Series Crayon 200 will air at 2:30 p.m. EDT Saturday on USA Network.
The Cup Series Ambetter 301 will then be run on the same track Sunday at New Hampshire Speedway. That event will air at 3 p.m. on USA Network.
Ryan Blaney is the favorite to win the Ambetter 301. Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin also are among the Top 5 favorites. Chase Elliott, Ross Chastain, Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick and Christopher Bell are among the other favorites.
Elliott leads the Cup Series standings, followed by Chastain, Logano, Blaney and William Byron in the Top 5. The driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet has a Cup Series-best three victories this season. He is tied with Chastain with 13 Top 10 finishes, the most in the racing circuit.
Elliott won two of the last three Cup Series events, including last weekend’s Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
MLB Draft
The 2022 MLB Draft will start Sunday and run through Tuesday. Draft coverage will start at 7 p.m. EDT Sunday on ESPN and MLB Network. The second and third days of the draft will air at 2 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday on MLB.com.
Day 1 of the draft will feature first- and second-round picks by the MLB’s 30 teams. Day 2 will feature rounds three through 10. Rounds 11 through 20 will air on the final day.
The Baltimore Orioles have the No. 1 overall selection. The Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers, Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Nationals also have Top 5 selections.
The Chicago Cubs, Miami Marlins, Minnesota Twins, Kansas City Royals and Colorado Rockies also are expected to pick players inside the Top 10.
Wesleyan High School (Peachtree Corners, Ga.) outfielder Druw Jones, the son of longtime Atlanta Braves great Andruw Jones, is considered one of the top prospects in the draft class.
Stillwater High School (Stillwater, Okla.) Jackson Holliday, the son of former MLB star Matt Holliday, is another top player from the class.
Georgia Tech catcher Kevin Parada, Mays High School (Atlanta) second baseman Termarr Johnson and IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) outfielder Elijah Green also should be early picks.
Weekend schedule (all times EDT)
Friday
Golf
British Open: Second round streams from 1:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Peacock; From 4 a.m. to 3 p.m. on USA Network
Soccer
Women’s European Championship: England vs. Northern Ireland at 3 p.m. on ESPN2
MLB
Pirates at Rockies at 8:30 p.m. on Apple TV+
Diamondbacks at Padres at 9:30 p.m. on Apple TV+
Saturday
Golf
British Open: Third round streams from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Peacock; From 5 to 7 a.m. on USA Network; From 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on NBC
UFC Fight Night
Ortega vs. Rodriguez: Main card starts at 2 p.m. on ABC/ESPN
NASCAR
Xfinity Series Crayon 200 at 2:30 p.m. on USA Network
Soccer
Women’s European Championship: Germany vs. Finland at 3 p.m. on ESPN2
MLS: Toronto at Montreal at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: New England at Philadelphia at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: Seattle at Chicago at 8 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: Charlotte at Miami at 8 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: DC United at Minnesota at 8 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: Los Angeles Galaxy at Colorado at 9 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: Austin at Dallas at 9 p.m. on ESPN+
MLB
Tigers at Guardians at 4 p.m. on FS1
Red Sox vs. Yankees at 7 p.m. on Fox
Brewers vs. Giants at 7 p.m. on Fox
Boxing
Ryan Garcia vs. Javier Fortuna at 11:30 p.m. on DAZN
Sunday
Golf
British Open: Final round streams from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Peacock; From 4 to 7 a.m. on USA Network; From 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on NBC
MLB
Royals at Blue Jays at noon on Peacock
MLB Draft at 7 p.m. on MLB Network and ESPN
Soccer
Women’s European Championship: Netherlands vs. Switzerland at noon on ESPN
MLS: Orlando at Atlanta at 3 p.m. on ABC
MLS: NYCFC at New York Red Bulls at 5 p.m. on ESPN
MLS: Cincinnati at Columbus at 7:30 p.m. on FS1
MLS: LAFC at Nashville at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: Kansas City at Salt Lake at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: Houston at San Jose at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: Vancouver at Portland at 10:30 p.m. on ESPN+
NASCAR
Cup Series Ambetter 301 at 3 p.m. on USA Network
