Playing in the same group as the LPGA Tour's hottest player, Sorenstam shot her second straight 4 under-par 68 on Friday to take the lead in the Takefuji Classic.

"I enjoy it very much," Sorenstam said of playing with Webb, the Australian star seeking her fourth victory in four 2000 starts.

"She's playing so well and I like to think I can feed off of that. She has so much confidence in her putting -- hopefully, it will rub off on me. I think we played similarly today, so maybe we're feeding off each other."

First-round leader Janice Moodie of Scotland was a stroke back at 7-under 137 after a 70.

Webb was hanging around, too. She completed an up-and-down round of 70 (five birdies and three bogeys) for a 6-under 138 total. She made an 18-foot putt and a 25-foot chip on the final two holes on the Kona Country Club course.

Also at 138 was Colombia's Marisa Baena, who picked up four strokes over the final 11 holes for a 68.

England's Laura Davies reached 5-under through 12 holes, but bogeyed two of the last five holes to finish alone in fourth at 140. The group at 3-under included Chris Johnson, Mhairi McKay, Jill McGill, Dana Dormann, Gloria Park, Lorie Kane and Jane Geddes.

Playing on the 6,257-yard Kona Country Club might have contributed to the cut soaring to 5-over. Seventy-five of the 125 players made it to the final round.

Sorenstam has hit 31 of 36 greens in regulation in her two bogey-free rounds.

"I'm happy with the way I'm hitting the ball," the Swedish star said. "It's fun to hit the ball consistently like that. I get up to my ball in the fairway and feel very confident with the yardage.

"I'm not seeing anything but a big green and where I need to hit it."

Although she was two strokes higher, Webb felt she played better in the second round.

"I missed quite a few short ones," she said. "I hit it close to the hole, but I wasn't always on the right side. I had a lot of putts down grain and cross grain, and it's basically a guessing game with those.

"I hit the ball better than I did yesterday."

Webb won the LPGA's Australian Ladies Masters on Sunday. She won The Office Depot in January in Florida in her only other LPGA start, and added the Australian Women's Open title two weeks ago.