Anthony Kim roused himself from a sluggish start to shoot a third round 69 for a share of the lead at the Houston Open Saturday. Kim started with two bogeys in his first three holes but was able to battle back, thanks largely to a deft short game, to join Bryce Molder at the top of the leaderboard on 10-under-par 206. Kim and Molder, who shot a 71, are two strokes clear of fellow Americans Joe Ogilvie (71) and Vaughn Taylor (70), while Briton Lee Westwood is among a trio three shots back. Westwood stormed home with 31, 10 shots fewer than he went out. “Maybe I woke up on the wrong side of the bed, just spraying the ball off the tee and hitting the worst shots I've probably hit this year, but I hung in there,” Kim told reporters. “I'm getting the ball up-and-down from a lot of places I shouldn't be, and that's dangerous, because you don't want to rely on that. “You want to fix your ball-striking and hit some fairways. I think I hit two fairways today. If I can hit a couple more tomorrow, I would be a little happier.” Molder, the overnight leader, said it had been a tough day. “I just couldn't quite find the club in my swing,” he added. “If you knew I had slept with the lead, you would assume that nerves got the best (of me) and part of that is probably true.” Molder almost dropped from top spot after finding water off the tee at 18 but salvaged a par by sinking a 15-foot putt. Ogilvie had charged to the front at 11-under after 15 holes, only to double bogey the par-three 16th after a poor tee shot. “I only missed two shots and I made two bogeys and a double,” he said. “If I play like I did today, I'll have a good chance tomorrow.” Stupples takes control In California, Britain's Karen Stupples, bidding for her second major title, birdied three of the first five holes on her way to a one-shot lead in the Kraft Nabisco Championship third round Saturday. The 36-year-old Englishwoman, a stroke off the pace overnight, fired a sparkling four-under-par 68 to head a high-quality leaderboard with a 10-under total of 206 at Mission Hills Country Club. Stupples sank a curling 15-footer on the 17th green for her sixth birdie of the day and a brief two-shot cushion, prompting a series of celebratory punches into the air with her left fist. Moments later, though, playing partners Yani Tseng of Taiwan and Norwegian Suzann Pettersen birdied the par-five last for matching 67s and a share of second place at nine under. Overnight leader Kim Song-hee of South Korea carded a 72 to lie a further two strokes back in a tie for fourth with Mexican world number one Lorena Ochoa (71).
