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RIO DE JANEIRO -- While winning the gold medal in the Olympic golf tournament last week, Justin Rose also dropped two spots in the PGA Tours FedEx Cup standings.It is probably not a big deal to Rose, who will try to make up the ground when the FedEx Cup playoffs begin next week. But it does offer an example of the problem with staging a tournament opposite the Olympics.And it was something LPGA Tour commissioner Mike Whan was determined to not let happen for the women.Although Whan acknowledged the circumstances between tours are different, he said he began working on the 2016 schedule with an eye on giving players a break heading into Olympic golf and not staging anything opposite it.We didnt know how many of the 60 [players in the Olympic field] would be LPGA members, Whan said Wednesday during the opening day of the womens competition. We figured it would be in the 40 to 45 kind of number. If you think of 45 being here playing for their country, and then we play somewhere else [also], that seemed tough. It seems tough to say you could get passed on the money list or the Race to CME [points list].The LPGA Tour has not had an event since July 31, the final round of the Ricoh Womens British Open. Whan admitted he might have had a tournament the following week, but it became a tough sell going up against the first weekend of the Olympic Games and the opening ceremony.So the women took that week off, last week and now only those in the Olympics are playing this week. Next week the LPGA Tour heads to Canada.The LPGA Tour typically has fewer tournaments than the PGA Tour, which consists of a jam-packed schedule. The PGA Tour elected not to take time off despite the mens Olympic golf tournament being played last week. That meant that two players who were eligible for the Olympics, Colombias Camilo Villegas and Zimbabwes Brendon de Jonge, played the John Deere Classic in Illinois because it was the second-to-last event in the regular season and both needed to earn FedEx points.We wanted the focus to be here, Whan said.The PGA Tour came under some criticism for staging a tournament last week and its not clear what the organization will do in 2020 when golf is back in the Olympics. But Whan said he will strive again to have a clear week during that time.For us, it seemed like the right thing to do, he said. Almost all of our players are fighting for different things. It seemed unfair to see them get passed because they are here. Yuli Gurriel Jersey . Calgary scored on the first shift, and Michael Cammalleri scored twice as the Flames cruised to a 5-2 win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday. Larry Dierker Astros Jersey . Having already announced that the race will start May 9 with three stages in Northern Ireland and Ireland and finish in Trieste on June 1, the rest of the route was unveiled Monday. https://www.cheapastros.com/ . -- The plastic that was taped across the lockers in Oaklands clubhouse came down and the champagne that was on ice went back into the cooler. Jim Bouton Jersey . James, who turned 29 on Monday, injured his groin Friday during the Heats overtime loss at Sacramento. He sat out the following game, a 108-107 win Saturday in Portland, before coming back to help send the Nuggets to their seventh consecutive loss. Houston Astros Pro Shop . "Were just throwing s--- at the wall hoping something sticks," said Tortorella about the possible line combinations for Fridays game against Columbus. The Canucks have lost five straight games and six of their last seven, leaving them in a logjam in the Pacific Division, currently sitting fifth - good for ninth in the Western Conference.He may only be about to start his second season in Formula 1, but 2016 could already prove a seminal year in the career of Max Verstappen. Mercedes and Ferrari may have seats up for grabs at the seasons end should Nico Rosberg and Kimi Raikkonen not earn themselves respective new deals and, although the list of potential alternatives at both teams would be vast, Verstappens outstanding form in his first season with Toro Rosso has already put him on their radars. All this at the age of just 18.If youre Toto Wolff, if youre Maurizio Arrivabene, there is only one name on your list for the medium and long-term future at the moment, says Sky F1 commentator David Croft. There are no two ways about it: there is no other driver who they havent already got who would fit the bill.In Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, Mercedes and Ferrari each have one multiple champion signed up for at least the next couple of seasons, giving them a reassuring level of top-level driver security. However, as much as F1 is about the here and now, it is also about making sure you are best positioned for long-term success and after just 19 races, Verstappen has already convinced many seasoned observers that he is the go-to driver for world title wins well into the next decade.He is quite clearly world championship material and he is just 18 years old, they will be fighting like crazy to get hold of him, remarked Martin Brundle last November. He is the hottest property in F1 that is not an established race or world championship winner,Will Verstappen improve again?But would it be wrong to assume that Verstappen will sidestep the usual growing pains associated with developing drivers - or, to borrow a phrase from football, Second Season Syndrome?We know hes a talented kid - and he will still be 18 for most of this season - but hes got two things that could count against him, pondered Croft. First and foremost, his car might not be as good. We dont know for sure until we go to Australia, but its running a year-old engine. So will Toro Rosso give him the goods to perform over the whole season?Then, how does he perform with the pressure of expectation? Its one thing to come in and say hey, Im Max Verstappen, here I am, dont you love me? Its another to do what he did last year when people know all about him.Certainly rival drivers now know what Verstappen is all about when they go wheel-to-wheel with him. Rather like Hamilton when the world champion first made his mark on F1 in 2007, Verstappen was last season able to harness his undoubted feel when a car is on a knife-edge with one of the biggest advantages of all - surprise.Speaking to Sky Sports in Abu Dhabi, Toro Rosso technical director James Key admitted that while the team did attempt to make up for their Renault engine shortfall by focuusing on ways to optimise overtaking opportunities, Verstappen got away with so many moves that you think my god, you wouldnt normally try that.ddddddddddddThe youngsters maturity outside of the car also caught the eye.Looking at the way he handled himself last year and the way he showed great maturity on and off the track, there were times when you thought wow, youve really thought about the question and what you say and a lot of what youre saying is quite correct, says Croft. Every race live in 2016 Sky Sports F1 brings you every race live in 2016. Fast and easy online upgrade - click here. His exchange with Felipe Massa in the Canadian GP press conference was one of those highlights. One of the elder statesmen was rather put away by Verstappens answer. I think he will deliver again and I see a lot of signs that this guy could deliver at the top for many years.And theres the rub for his would-be suitors. He may only be 18, and have two seasons of single-seater racing behind him, but can either of F1s big hitters afford to take a cautious approach with their next big signing?What do you do if youre Ferrari or Mercedes? asks Croft. Do you play the waiting game and see whether Verstappen can deliver, or do you try to get in there early? It might be that the earlier you get in the better chance you have got because it might be that both of them are fighting over one man. A three-way battleAnd what about Red Bull? As the parent of Toro Rosso, Red Bull hold Verstappens contract - but is the Dutchman necessarily on the same glide path that has taken Daniel Ricciardo, Daniil Kvyat and Vettel from junior to senior team? He was on the radar of a lot of teams and a lot of Formula 1 bosses for a long time, points out Croft. He went to Toro Rosso, but dont forget both Ferrari and Mercedes held talks with him and his dad before he went there.What they couldnt give him last year was a race seat. But that doesnt mean he has got himself tied in with Red Bull and tied in for the long run. I dont know the answer but I would suspect, as his dad is very clever and he is very clever, that there isnt more than a two-year deal on the table that he can be bought out of at the end of those two years.Having made clear that winning the world title - rather than the lure of driving for any particular team - is what motivates him, Verstappen may have the pick of which F1 top table he dines at if his stratospheric rise continues uninterrupted this year.The first race of the 2016 F1 season, the Australian GP, is exclusively live on Sky F1. The race in Melbourne starts at 5am on Sunday March 20. Also See: The F1 Gossip Column A Big Year for Ferrari ' ' '