ORLANDO, Fla. Karrie Webb always knew her game could use improvement, but she never was in much of a hurry to change after finishing first and second on the money list her first two years on the LPGA Tour.

This year was different.

A forgotten star in a 1998 season dominated by Annika Sorenstam and Se Ri Pak, Webb spent three weeks in Australia changing her putting grip, the way she aligns herself and her outlook on golf. It hasn't taken that long to get some results.

Webb put herself in position for her 10th career victory today with another 68 that left her one stroke behind Tina Barrett and Catriona Matthew after two rounds of the HealthSouth Inaugural.

"Three years ago I would have felt last year was a great year," Webb said. "But after the two previous years, it wasn't as good. I was motivated to work on a few things."

Webb likes her position going into the final round at Grand Cypress Resort -- one shot behind two players who aren't nearly as experienced at winning.

Barrett has not won since her rookie season 10 years ago. Matthew, the 29-year-old from Scotland, has never won in America and never played in the final group on the LPGA Tour.

Both were at 9-under 135 -- Barrett after overcoming a bogey on the first hole to shoot a 4-under 68, Matthew calming her nerves with a 16-foot par putt on the first hole and cruising to a 69.

If the sight of Webb isn't enough to make them wonder about the task ahead, another Hall of Famer is also hot on their heels -- and it's not Nancy Lopez.

Patty Sheehan hit just about everything close in her round of 66 and was tied with Webb at 136.

"We're not over the hill," Sheehan said. "It was nice to see Nancy's name on the leaderboard yesterday. It was really nice to see mine up there today. It was an easy day, and they don't come along very often. I don't remember a day where so many shots were so close to the hole."

Lopez played the par-5s in 1-over and finished with a 74 to fall back at 140. Sorenstam had a 72 and was at 141, along with defending champion Kelly Robbins.

Se Ri Pak shot another 74 and missed the cut for the first time since the Hawaiian Open last year, a streak of 24 tournaments.

Without much wind, the best defence mechanism at Grand Cypress, low scores continued to prevail -- 18 players were in the 60s.

Laura Davies set a course record with a 7-under 65 -- one better than the previous mark that Lopez and Matthew matched in the first round. For Davies, it was 14 strokes better than her first round when she took five penalty shots, including two balls in the drink.

Webb's golf hasn't been nearly that exciting. She just relies on tremendous driving and iron play that made her the first LPGA rookie to surpass $1 million in a year in 1996. Webb made two great par saves from difficult lies in the rough, but fell out of the lead on the par-3 17th when she had to chip from the horseshoe-shaped green, over 20 feet of bunker with only 20 feet to the cup. She executed it nicely, but missed the 8-footer coming back.

"Overall, I'm hitting it really well," said Webb, who shot a 68 despite a blister the size of a dime on her left heel from wearing new shoes.

Barrett earned her only LPGA victory as a rookie in 1989, although she came close last year in the Japan Classic, losing to Hiromi Kobayashi on the third playoff hole.

"I was a green rookie back then," Barrett said. "I just thought that when you play well, you win. I've come to learn that's not the case. You can play well and lose by 10 strokes. My goal the last three or four years has been to win a tournament. So that's it right now."

Matthew has more recent experience at winning, although not in America. She won the Australian Ladies Open in 1996, then added the McDonalds WPGA Championship in Europe in August.

"I'm happy being there," Matthew said, playing in the final round for the first time in America. "You're ahead of people behind you, and that's an advantage."

DIVOTS: Karen Noble missed the cut, but she won't leave Grand Cypress empty-handed. Noble won a Mercury Cougar with a hole-in-one on the 17th hole today. She used a 5-iron on the 168-yard hole for her second career ace, but still shot 39 on the back nine. ... Annika Sorenstam has returned to putting crosshanded. She first tried "left hand low" last April, switched back and won four times. ... Colleen Walker was tied for the lead until a quadruple-bogey 8 on the sixth hole. She finished with a 74, six strokes back.