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British Open, MLB draft, NASCAR top weekend sports schedule

American Collin Morikawa hits a drive during the first round of the 150th British Open on Thursday at the Old Course at St. Andrews in St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland. Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI
1 of 5 | American Collin Morikawa hits a drive during the first round of the 150th British Open on Thursday at the Old Course at St. Andrews in St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland. Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI | License Photo

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

Australian Cameron Smith wins 150th British Open in Scotland

Australian Cameron Smith kisses the claret jug after winning the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews Golf Club in Scotland on Sunday. Smith won with a score of 20 under par. Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI | License Photo

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