Five birdies at the backside capped Rosales’ bogey-less 35-31 stint at the par 72 Stonebridge Country Club as she jumped to joint 13th, six strokes off Webb heading into the final round of the 54-hole championship.
It was a big recovery by the 25-year-old Rosales, who groped for form after a two-week long rest on the LPGA Tour and limped with a 73 in the opener on a four-bogey, three-birdie stint.
But Rosales, seeking a follow-up to her breakthrough victory in the Chick-fil-A Championship in Georgia last month, fought back with a birdie on No. 5 then rammed in five more at the back in smashing fashion, including one on No. 18 that gave her a 36-hole aggregate of 139 in a tie with Grace Park and four others.
But that was six strokes behind Webb, the Australian star who rolled in a 40-foot birdie putt on No. 14 and added birdies on the final two holes for an 11-under 133 total. Jill McGill and Seol-An Jeon were tied for second.
Webb, a six-time major winner and two-time LPGA player of the year, has not lived up to her own high standards the last couple of years. She won just once on tour last year and finished out of the top 10 for the first time since joining the LPGA in 1996.
"I know I’m on the right track. I really believe that what I’m working on is going to give me a chance to play that kind of golf," she said. "If I don’t win tomorrow, still, these are the two most solid rounds I’ve put together this year."
Webb wasn’t the only big name on the leaderboard.
Five players were within four shots of the lead, including two-time defending champion Annika Sorenstam.
Sorenstam began the day five shots back of the leader but got off to a strong start with a birdie on the par-5 first.
On No. 1, her third shot sailed right and landed on the edge of the cart path. Sorenstam took a drop and chipped to 5 feet for an easy putt on a day when the greens were playing fast.