HUMBLE, Texas — Anthony Kim never knew where his tee shots were going. Bryce Molder never got control of his swing.

Both saved themselves with their short games yesterday and ended up tied for the third-round lead in the Houston Open.

Kim missed 11 of 14 fairways, but relied on good putting to shoot a 3-under 69 that left him 10-under 206 for the tournament. Molder, the second-round leader, made four bogeys and five birdies for a 71.

"It was a tough day," Molder said. "I just couldn't quite find the club in my swing, and it was just a little off."

Vaughn Taylor (70) and Joe Ogilvie (71) were two strokes back at 8 under after both bogeyed the difficult 18th hole. Houston resident Jeff Maggert (70), Graham DeLaet (71) and Lee Westwood (72) were three strokes behind the leaders.

The players faced only light breezes after wind gusted up to 30 mph during the first two rounds. The mild conditions couldn't help Kim, who was hitting tee shots into trouble all day.

"I don't know what happened today," Kim said. "Just spraying the ball off the tee, just hitting the worst shots I've hit probably this year."

After three-plus years on the tour, Kim feels as if he's matured enough to make smart decisions, when parts of his game are letting him down.

"I've learned a lot from past experiences," he said. "It gives me confidence that I'm getting the ball up and down from a lot of places I probably shouldn't."