EVIAN, France -- Karrie Webb's recent work on her mental strength seems to be paying off. Michelle Wie, however, can't seem to get a grip on her physical strength.

Webb will enter the final round of the Evian Masters with a one-stroke lead over Wie after mastering the windy conditions and tricky pin positions to shoot a 3-under 69 Friday.

Wie dropped to second after a 2-under 70.

Laura Davies and Se Ri Pak are tied for third at 10 under.

Lorena Ochoa, who co-led with Webb and Wie coming into the round, seemed likely to remain among the leaders but the Mexican double-bogeyed the 17th and bogeyed the 18th to finish at 1-over 73 and drop to fifth with South Korea's Jeong Jang and Mi Hyun Kim at 8 under.

It marks the 30th time Webb has entered the final round with at least a share of the lead. She won 19 of those times, finished second seven others and third once.

"It was another good start but I seemed to struggle through the middle holes," Webb said. "I putted pretty well and was comfortable on the greens. But it's only the third round. There's a long way to go. There are a lot of low numbers to be had out there.

"I'm not really bothered about being in the lead. There are a lot of great players behind me and with a one-shot lead. I feel I've got to attack. It's not like protecting a three or four shot lead."

Webb made four birdies in the front nine, and another on the 10th hole but stumbled on the 12th and 13th, where she dropped three shots. However, she was able to regroup and come back with a birdie on the 18th to finish the day at 12-under 204.

"It's probably the mental work I've done over the last eight months," she said. "Definitely I've been more concentrated on that the last eight months. How to switch it on, when to switch it on."

Wie stayed close to Webb for most of the day but faltered on the back nine with bogeys on the 12th and 17th.

"I played a lot harder than the past few days, the pin positions were a lot harder," said Wie, who is still seeking her first win as a professional. "I made my putts when I had to so I feel good going into tomorrow."

Wie looked strong on the front nine but bogeyed twice on the back.

On the 16th, her tee shot went into the rough and she continued to struggle, with her second stroke going short of the green on the right. But she saved her par, chipping the ball to within two yards of the hole before sinking her putt.

She blundered her opening shot again on the 17th, going 30 yards long and into the rough. She then chipped it out over the flag and onto the opposite edge of the green. She missed her putt by six inches and settled for a bogey.

"It's like I became the Hulk on that hole or something," said Wie, who has struggled with the 17th since her arrival, going 40 yards long on the first day, then 20 yards short on the second. "There's no reason that I should have gone that far. I got a bad lie second shot. The shot felt good when I hit it but it just kept on going.

"It was just weird but tomorrow I'll get it. I'm not going to leave this tournament until I've birdied it."

Wie regained her focus on the final hole, her tee shot soaring down the fairway. She chipped it to within 15 feet to set up an eagle, but missed her putt by a foot and took the birdie.

Rumbling storm clouds that worried organizers and players finally gave way to sunshine. But half a day of clouds cooled temperatures to 26 degrees C (79 degrees F) at the lakeside Alpine layout, offering some relief from the heat wave across much of Europe.

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