Sorenstam won 13 times last year

World number one Annika Sorenstam rose to the top with a third-round 65 in the Safeway Ping tournament in Arizona.

The Swede leads by two shots from France's Patricia Meunier-Lebouc (67), with the trio of Grace Park (67) and Se Ri Pak (68) of Korea, and Australian Karrie Webb (68) one shot further back.

Sorenstam began the day in a four-way tie with her closest challengers but pulled away on the back nine.

"I'm very happy with the way I'm playing," said Sorenstam, who won 13 tournaments around the world last year.

"Last year, I set a lot of records, but I'm not overwhelmed by that."

R3 LEADERBOARD -18 Annika Sorenstam (Swe) -16 Patricia Meunier-Lebouc (Fra) -15 Karrie Webb (Aus), Se Ri Pak (Kor), Grace Park (Kor)

Scotland's Catriona Matthew fired an impressive six-under-par 66, but England's Laura Davies lost ground with a 70.

The pair both finished on 11 under, seven shots adrift.

Davies, the winner of the Australian Ladies' Masters this year, made four birdies in the first 10 holes, but bogeys at the 14th and 17th saw her slip back into a tie for eighth.

"It was a bit frustrating because I played really well and made lots of chances," said Davies, who won this title four years in a row from 1994-97.

"I lost count of the putts that lipped the hole."

Matthew fired seven birdies before dropping her only shot of the day when she hit the trees and ricocheted into water from the tee at the 18th.

"But 66 is always a good score and you never what might happen tomorrow," she said.

"There are really low scores to be made out there. Hopefully, I can do it again tomorrow."