As we enter the middle of July, it’s rare that we have so many top sporting events going on. With the COVID-19 pandemic pushing back the start of the 2020-21 NBA season, we still have the NBA Finals going on. Not only do we have the Finals, but we also have the start of the second half of the Major League Baseball season, and the fourth and final major of the year on the PGA Tour, the Open Championship is being played this weekend as well. Let’s look at some of the top events on this weekend’s busy sports schedule.
Top Sports Events for This Weekend – July 17 – July 18
NBA
With their series all tied at two games, apiece the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns will return to the Valley of the Sun for Game 5 on Saturday night. After taking a 2-0 lead, the Suns have lost the last two games. Milwaukee dominated the Suns in Game 3, while some costly mistakes late in the game cost the Suns in Game 4. With this series now being a best-of-three, both teams will have to pull out all of the stops.
Thus far, this has been a series dominated by the team’s superstars. Chris Paul and Devin Booker have led the Suns, while Giannis Antetokounmpo has been the leader for the Bucks. We’ll see if some new faces step up their games to try to help lead their teams to victory.
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour heads across the pond for one of its major tournaments, as the top players in the world will venture to Royal St. George’s Golf Club in the United Kingdom for the Open Championship. This is the fourth and final major tournament of the 2021 season.
Some of the favorites to win the Claret Jug are Jon Rahm, Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas, and Louis Oosthuizen. Oosthuizen shot a six-under to lead the tournament after the opening round.
The weather always seems to be a factor at the British Open, so we’ll see if that becomes an issue.
MLB
Now that the All-Star Break has come and gone, we’re going to see the return of Major League Baseball action. Coming out of the break, we’re going to see a series between two of the top teams in the American League, as the Houston Astros will start their second half at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago to take on the American League Central leaders, the White Sox.
Both of these teams have a great shot at representing the American League in the World Series. The White Sox have one of, if not the best pitching staff in baseball. They have a very good starting rotation and one of the top bullpens in the league. This staff will have to take on a very powerful Houston Astros lineup. This should be a great series between two teams that know that this could be the year to win it all.