The Watchlist: The best sport to watch this weekend (ranked)

Cameron McMillan ranks the best sport to watch in the coming few days.

‘You had my curiosity, but now you have my attention’. Greg Norman bringsthe rebel golf league to The Grange in Adelaide, the course where he won his first professional event. It’s LIV Golf’s first time in Australia and the tournament has been sold out for weeks. It features a party hole at the par three 12th, where I expect to see surrounding the green - dozens of people in singlets and cork hats, standing over BBQs drinking big bottles of Coopers. Anything else would be unAustralian. After Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson and Patrick Reed all performed well at Augusta, it’s worth a check-in at least and a quick leaderboard scan of the final day for Danny Lee.

The Chevron Championship (formally theANA Inspiration, the Kraft Nabisco Championship and the Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner’s Circle before that) is the opening LPGA major of the year and a chance for Lydia Ko to win her third career major and first since 2016. A victory will also give her the two points needed to automatically qualify for the LPGA’s Hall of Fame - again worth noting she’s only 25 (turns 26 on Monday). It’s at a new location being moved from the Palm Springs region, denying fans of the Coachella-golf major double feature, to 45 minutes away from Houston which is the home of title sponsor Chevron. The new course is the Jack Nicklaus-designed The Club at Carlton Woods with Ko admitting earlier in the week she lost plenty of balls in her first practice round. Sounds like a challenge for the best in the women’s game.

Put a line through this if the Black Caps lose this morning’s fourth match. But a game five decider to win their first T20 series in Pakistan would be a good reason to get up early on a Tuesday.

The Drua seem to have a great game plan this season - don’t play in boring games. They either take part in high-scoring duels (lost to the Highlanders 57-24, lost to the Brumbies 43-28, beat the Rebels 38-28) or tight affairs (beat Moana Pasifika by two, beat the Crusaders by one, lost to the Reds by three). Odds are the Watchlist’s official Super Rugby Pacific ‘game of the week’ will more likely be a high-scoring duel but the Chiefs, who are on an unbeaten run to start the season, could, might, possibly just have one eye on the Crusaders next week.

Talk about season-defining. It’s the game that could decide the English Premier League title. Arsenal first face last-placed Southampton tomorrow morning which should see them end their run of back-to-back draws and give them a seven-point buffer into Thursday’s match away to City. A win for Arsenal you’d think would all but secure their first title since 2003 but a defeat to Pep Guardiola’s side will leave City just four points back with two games in hand (Arsenal will have five more games to go and City seven). The treble would be well and truly on.

Are we all suckers for thinking this will be a contest? On one hand, the Warriors have looked really good under Andrew Webster this season. On the other hand, it’s the Storm on Anzac Day! We know how this goes. Charlie Brown never connects with the Steeden. But we still think it might happen every time. The Warriors’ last Anzac Day win over Melbourne came way back in 2014 and they’ve been outscored 94-30 in the past two Anzac Day clashes. Still, I’ll be tuning in on Tuesday night. One issue, speaking for New Zealand viewers and one who has a 5am start on Wednesday - why does this have to be played on Anzac Day? Yes, the significance of the day is important but late on a public holiday still means people have work the next day. Wouldn’t it make more sense to have played this game on the Monday night or if it has to be Anzac Day then switch with the 6pm Roosters-Dragons clash to at least give Kiwis an earlier viewing time?

For the latest on rugby league from here and around the world, listen to The Big League Podcast