Unlike defending champion Rosie Jones, Karrie Webb doesn't feel under any extra pressure taking a two-stroke lead into the final round of the LPGA Rochester International.

"It doesn't bother me either way," said the 24-year-old Australian, who is merely accustomed to winning.

Webb vaulted to the front once more today with a 4-under 68 that was highlighted by a 50-foot chip-in. It gave her a 6-under 210 total at the sun-baked Locust Hill course.

Jones delivered her own heroics, bouncing in from the edge of the rough from 127 yards for an eagle on the par-4 10th.

"It was just the kicker that I really needed," said Jones, who carded a 68 to join Nancy Scranton (66) and Leigh Ann Mills (71) in a tie for second.

"I think I prefer to be a little bit behind," Jones added. "I'm a little bit more aggressive. ... You're usually a little bit more on edge when you're leading."

Becky Iverson, Cindy McCurdy and Gail Graham were three strokes off the pace, one better than Tammie Green, who won here in 1993.

Webb, a four-time winner this year, had birdies on Nos. 2 and 4, then took the lead with an eagle at the par-5 8th by holing from a green-side bunker. Her only bogey came at No. 14, where she hit through the green and ended up missing from 5 feet.

"It's definitely not my tournament to lose," she said. "Two shots is a nice cushion, so hopefully I can maintain that."

Webb opened with a cold putter Thursday for a 3-over 75, then jumped into a tie for fifth -- three behind second-round leader Jean Zedlitz -- with a 5-under 67 Friday. Zedlitz fell back with a 75 Saturday and was 2 under.

Webb has finished in the top eight in all 12 of her LPGA outings this year and leads the earnings list with $791,198. As an LPGA rookie in 1996, she became the first player to earn more than $1 million in a season.

In all, she has won 13 times on the LPGA Tour. Mickey Wright holds the record for most wins in a season -- 13 in 1963.

Scranton had seven birdies and the day's best round. She credited her success on the greens to the cross-handed grip she switched to last April.

"I'm able to roll the ball better now," she said, adding that her putting touch has "never been my strong point."

Webb also putts cross-handed -- placing her right hand above her left.

Scranton, 38, won the 1991 du Maurier Classic, a major, and the Los Coyotes Classic in 1992. Plagued by a shoulder injury in the mid-1990s, she took a year off in 1996 to recover from surgery and look after her ailing parents before they succumbed to cancer and emphysema.

"I wouldn't trade that for anything," she said. "It makes you realize what is important."

AP