Karrie Webb put herself in contention for a fifth Women's Australian Open with a three-under round to hit the front after the third round at the Commonwealth Golf Course on Saturday.

The Australian seven-time major winner, backing up from winning last week's Ladies Masters title on the Gold Coast, carded a 70 to ease past halfway leader Giulia Sergas of Italy.

Webb is six-under par 213 overall, one shot ahead of Sergas, who slipped to a two-over par 75.

Defending champion Laura Davies had a topsy-turvy round of two-under 71, but emerged in outright third place at four-under 215.

"I felt like I played really solidly today," Webb said.

"I swung really well, I hit a couple of loose iron shots in the last couple of holes but tee to green was really solid and three birdies and no bogeys around here is a pretty good effort."

Webb said she was not accustomed to playing for such a long stretch and had to remind herself to stay alert during Saturday's round.

"It is the first time in many years I've played four (tournaments) in a row, but I feel like I've got a good one left in me and we'll just see if that's good enough tomorrow," she said.

Davies managed to stay in the hunt and is searching for some consistency in Sunday's final 18 holes.

"I haven't played particularly well the last two rounds but I've got the ball around," Davies said.

"The first round I thought the golf course was pretty easy - five under, no dramas. But the last two days - lots of drama."