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AKRON, Ohio -- So much for course knowledge. Webb Simpson, playing his first competitive round at Firestone Country Club, shot a 6-under 64 on Thursday to take a one-stroke lead in the Bridgestone Invitational. It all came down to trust. "Well, I knew it all through my caddie (Paul Tesori), whos been here so many years," Simpson said. "I just kind of had to listen to him." Tesori has caddied for years on tour, for Vijay Singh and Jerry Kelly, in addition to being a pro himself. "Its hard for us players to listen to our caddies, but he basically showed me where to go yesterday and told me where to hit it, where the lines were, what clubs to hit," said Simpson, the 2012 U.S. Open champion. "I didnt feel like it was my first time because he has so much experience here." Seven-time Bridgestone winner Tiger Woods did not have to rely so much on the man on his bag, Joe LaCava, while shooting a 66. Woods has 11 top-10 finishes in his 13 starts at the course, so he clearly knows where to go. Still, he needed his counsel from time to time. "I hit a lot of good shots. I had a really good feel for the distance today, and Joey and I really read the wind right today," Woods said after his best opening round at the course since another 66 spurred him to a one-shot victory in 2005. "We changed a lot of shots out there, and we both had a really good handle on what we were doing feel-wise with the wind." Henrik Stenson was alone in second with a 65. Defending champion Keegan Bradley, Ryan Moore and Chris Wood, another first-time entrant, matched Woods at 66. Simpson had six birdies in an eight-hole span. There was only one glitch. "I wish I didnt bogey the last hole," he said after missing the green on the par 4 and failing to get up and down. "Its one area Ive got to get better at. When Im between clubs, hitting more club and swinging easy is where Ive been struggling. "You know, theres always something to work on." Simpson hasnt won this season. He called his year "encouraging and frustrating." "I feel like Ive let a couple of tournaments go that maybe I should have closed out," he said. Stenson started out birdie, eagle -- hitting his second shot 243 yards on the par-5 hole to inside 4 feet. He slowed down from there, parring every hole except for birdies at the 11th and 12th holes. He had more problems with his outfit than the course. He was breaking in a new pair of shoes and felt a blister coming on at the turn, so had to switch to an older pair that didnt necessarily fit with his ensemble. "They might not match the outfit perfectly, but it felt like I had socks on compared to the other ones," he said, grinning. Woods would have a nice career if only World Golf Championship events, such as the Bridgestone, counted. He won three in a row (1999-2001) at Firestone, then had three top-five finishes before reeling off victories in his next four appearances (2005-2009), and missing the 2008 tournament while recovering from knee surgery. In 41 WGC starts, he has 32 top-10 finishes. Theres something about Firestone that brings out the best in him. "Luckily, over the years Ive taken advantage of it," he said. "I have played well and Ive scored well, and Ive won my share of tournaments here." Bradley won the Bridgestone a year ago when he shot a closing 64, and Jim Furyk, who had led all week, double-bogeyed the closing hole. Bradley put together a workmanlike, efficient 66 that didnt include a bogey. The 2011 PGA Championship winner doesnt want to stress out on defending his title. "No, its business as usual," he said. "I just want to not put too much pressure on myself to do anything crazy. I know this golf course fits me, so to let the course come to me is big here." Another shot back at 67 in the star-studded field were Furyk, Jason Dufner, Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler, Bill Haas and Luke Donald. Fowler was speaking for a lot of players when he said that there are a lot of similarities between Firestone and Oak Hill, the site of the PGA Championship next week. "If the course stays dry and it starts to firm up through the weekend, its very comparable as far as youve got to drive the ball well and position yourself off the tee," said Fowler, who practiced at Oak Hill on Monday. "Its a great warm-up here, but obviously this is one of our bigger weeks of the year, too. Two great weeks, back-to-back, and two great golf courses." While the worlds top-ranked player, Woods, was in prime position, that wasnt necessarily the case for Nos. 2 and 3. Phil Mickelson, coming off his dramatic victory at the British Open two weeks ago, struggled with his concentration and came in with a 72. "Tonight Ill get a little bit more rest and try not to do too much and see if I can come out tomorrow a little bit more focused," he said. He missed two par putts inside 3 feet on consecutive holes early in his round. Rory McIlroy shot a 70. The defending PGA champion is winless this year. "I just threw a few shots away around the greens," he said. "You know, you start to save shots there and all of a sudden youre 3- , 4- or 5-under par." Air Max Uk Sale . -- There were so many positives from the Orlando Magics first victory of the season that it was hard for coach Jacque Vaughn to stop praising his players. Cheap Air Max Online . 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. http://www.cheapairmaxuksale.com/ .com) - Yankee Stadium is the home of the Bronx Bombers, but on Sunday afternoon it will open its gates to host the latest addition of the Hudson River Rivalry. Air Max Uk Cheap Online . -- Sergey Tolchinksy scored his second goal of the game 3:56 into overtime as the Sault Ste. Cheap Air Max Uk Sale . The (11-11-4) Jets are seventh in the Central Division with 26 points. Fifth place Dallas and sixth-seeded Nashville also have 26 points, but the Stars have three games in hand on Winnipeg while Nashville has two. Add a staph infection to the long list of ailments that Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt suffered -- and played through -- during the 2015 season.Watt, in a post for The Players Tribune, credits a Texans trainer for looking at some weird bumps on my knee and recognizing the infection. He said he was later told by a team doctor that, if it had gone undiagnosed, he could have lost his leg.During that 2015 season, Watt said he also suffered a broken hand, two torn abs, three torn adductor muscles and a herniated disc on two occasions. He didnt miss a game.That was my 2015 season. Believe it or not, the scariest was probably the staph infection, Watt wrote.Watt said he approached the trainer to get some cream to take care of what he thought was a rash, and the trainer told him that they had to get him to a hospital immediately.I thought he was joking at first. But then I could see in his face that he was serious and actually a bit panicked, Watt wrote. As it turrned out, he saved me in a big way.ddddddddddddAt the hospital, they immediately put me on three hours of the strongest antibiotic IVs. I went straight from the hospital to the team plane and we flew to Jacksonville.Once we landed, there were two more hours of antibiotics that night and two more the next morning before the game. The medicine had completely drained me, but I played -- and we won.Watt, who was cleared Monday to take the next step in his rehab from back surgery in September, was at NRG Stadium on Tuesday, coach?Bill OBrien said.Hell be back in 2017, OBrien said of Watt, who was put on injured reserve prior to Week 4 and is eligible to return to the team this week. Hes back in the building today. Hes in good spirits, and working hard to be better than ever in 2017.ESPN Staff Writer Sarah Barshop contributed to this report. ' ' '