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AKRON, Ohio -- There are a few different philosophies to playing a tournament like the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, which has a 61-player field this week. Wait, make that a 60-player field. No, sorry. Down to 59 by the end of Thursday. Golfs magic number, you know.But I digress. Whatever the exact total, there remain a few truths that are self-evident at this type of event: Every competitor will play four rounds and every competitor will cash a nice paycheck.The extent of how low those rounds are and how large those paychecks are depends on a players philosophy, though not each viewpoint works the same for all players.Theres the idea that a guy can treat this week as a slight departure from the usual grind, maybe working on his game a little less as he steels himself for the second half of the year.You can come out here and kind of -- I wont say not care, but not have to worry about making the Friday cut, explained William McGirt. You know, the big thing is just going out and playing golf and having fun, do your thing. But it does give you a chance to kind of work on some stuff, knowing that theres no cut that you have to worry about making.This strategy might not sound conducive to success, but it should be noted that McGirt employed this method to the tune of an opening-round 6-under 64, good for an early three-stroke lead.Then theres the other strategy.The one that Jason Day is using this week.Some guys are happy to be in the field and stuff like that, but if you just give it that extra little bit, you can kind of pick up a cheap one, he said. Obviously, this is not cheap, its just like theres less people here, you have less people to try and beat, and if you can just really focus down and mentally prepare for that, I think you can definitely pick one up.Day hasnt won a tournament since way back at the Players Championship, three starts and seven whole weeks ago. That would be a mere blip for most mortal golfers, but for the worlds No. 1-ranked player with eight wins since the beginning of last year, it almost -- almost -- represents a bit of a (gulp) slump. All right, call it a lull. A slight lull.So rather than treat this tournament as a brief interlude between the games four major championships, Day has emboldened himself to make a serious run at the title. Its an idea personified by a first-round, 3-under 67 that left him in a share of second place behind only McGirt.Youre guaranteed four days, and you can come and relax and just get your money and walk off, but I dont want to do that, Day explained. These are kind of the weeks where I get to have some fun and go fish, and then obviously come in and not have to worry about making a cut or anything like that, even if you are playing bad. You can just focus on trying to win.That must be a trick only a No. 1 player could pull off, correlating not having to worry about making a cut into being able to focus more on trying to win, but Day appears to have perfected this mindset so far.Hes calling this week a pseudo-home game, having traveled the one-hour, 45-minute journey from Columbus with his family in their RV. And yes, hes been fishing this week, already hooking a largemouth bass to put him one up on caddie Colin Swatton.But none of that means hes taking this one easy.On weeks like this one -- and you can add the year-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions and erstwhile WGC-Cadillac Championship to this list, too, and maybe the FedEx playoff events BMW Championship and Tour Championship, though theres more at stake there -- these philosophies can take one of two routes.Neither is the secret formula for success, of course. A player can grind all week and still fall well short; he can take things a bit easier and still win the tournament.Each strategy is on display on the leaderboard at the WGC-Bridgestone, where fewer competitors and guaranteed money can always affect the eventual outcome.Just ask the guys at the top so far. J. P. Crawford Jersey . That gave fans outside Joe Louis Arena another chance to ask for autographs from the 19-year-old whose stardom in the NHL has arrived earlier than most expected. Erik Swanson Jersey .5 million, one-year contract on Friday. Hawkins, who turns 41 in December, will compete with Rex Brothers for the closers role at spring training. https://www.cheapmariners.com/1975k-edgar-martinez-jersey-mariners.html . The team said Saturday that Lopez was hurt during its 121-120 overtime loss at Philadelphia on Friday. The Nets said they would issue another update next week after consultation with their doctors. Gaylord Perry Mariners Jersey . Ouellette, from Montreal, already has three Olympic gold medals since joining the team in 1999. Alvin Davis Mariners Jersey . They hope to persuade the other team owners and commissioner Roger Goodell to put pressure on Redskins owner Daniel Snyder to drop the nickname they find offensive. "Given the way the meeting transpired," Ray Halbritter, an Oneida representative and leader of the "Change the Mascot Campaign," said Wednesday, "it became somewhat evident they were defending the continued use of the name. Somewhere between taking off from Visakhapatnam and touching down in Mohali, England would have run into a dear old friend.Winter.Its set quite nicely in the north and although the temperatures would not dip as low as they do at home for them, Alastair Cook and his men would know they have one less thing to fight against in India. The heat.They are also likely to notice a drop in the crowd. The PCA IS Bindra Stadium had hummed to Virat Kohli the last time he was here - an ODI against New Zealand - and could not believe what he was doing to Australia the time before that - at the World T20. There is hope that they would be just as interested in watching him perform as Indias Test captain, but it is not the strongest.There are other potential pick-me-ups for England, assuming they have looked at the data.M Vijay averages 43 when in the first Test of a series but it dips to 25.50 by the time the fourth arrives. Cheteshwar Pujara has a similar downward trend - 70.55 slips to 36.50. They have played only one five-match series before - against England in 2014 - and the sample is too small to indicate a trend. For the record though, Vijay averages 10 and Pujara 7.50 in the fifth Test of a series.Both men scored near-flawless hundreds in Rajkot. But in the first innings in Visakhapatnam, Vijay was bounced out in the fifth over. The surprise that had been in Englands eyes for the longest time had barged into his own as the new ball leapt up to take the glove and loop over to gully.A delivery at his throat would not be the first thing on a batsmans mind when the game is barely into its first half hour. Further still if the bowler was James Anderson, a man known to take his wickets with swing, seam and guile. But Vijay just wasnt ready for the ball that bested him even though it had pitched halfway down the pitch. While its line - right on off stump - was perfect, there is an argument that had Vijay been more alert to the length he might have dropped his wrists and swayed away. Instead, he tried to defend and the ball thudded into his top which was up around head height.This could well be reading too much into a batsman uundone by a good un before he could get set and Vijay has had his share of them in the recent past against New Zealand - two in the Kolkata Test and a rip-roaring catch at short leg in Indore - along with incidents like the second innings at Holkar Stadium where he did not put in a dive to prevent himself getting run-out.dddddddddddd A player of his caliber - the gift of timing, endless reserves of patience and shots all around the park - should have had a much better series by now. Culling out the minor carelessness in his game may well be the key.Pujara is a tad less easy to categorise as lax. He is, however, a nervous starter, especially against deliveries moving into him and it was Anderson again who exploited this weakness with a superb display of reverse swing in the second innings in Visakhapatnam. Twenty-six of his 62 dismissals are either bowled or lbw. Oppositions tend to take note of that and if conditions are such that there may be swing in the air - like in Mohali on a wintry morning - Pujara will have his work cut out. He probably would not have it any other way. Vijay too. Theyve beaten tough odds before.India do not often play lengthy Test series. Touring South Africa in 2013, their bowlers could not handle back-to-back Tests. The first they drew. The second and final they lost. In 2016, though, they outpaced West Indies quite handsomely over four matches. Well three, considering the rain and outfield in Trinidad. They held New Zealand off superbly at home and are living up to the standards they have set for themselves.Kohli is at the centre of this revolution. He thrives on any kind of pressure, whether it is making sure he scores because there are only five batsmen in the side or showing that pitches dont matter when you have intent or keeping his performances up. The Indian captain averages 51, 44, 50 and 56 in the first, second, third and fourth Tests of a series. He is the one England are most worried about so he is the one his team-mates will do well to follow. ' ' '