West Australian Jess Whitting will start the final round tied for the lead as she chases a career-altering victory at the Australian Women’s Classic presented by Pacific Bay Resort Studios.

Co-sanctioned with the Ladies European Tour, the 54-hole tournament at Bonville Golf Resort became a 36-hole sprint when play was suspended after just an hour on Friday.

Whitting was in the group next on the tee when play was called off, forced instead to kill time in the clubhouse as tournament officials and course staff evaluated whether play could resume.

That didn’t happen until Saturday morning, clear skies allowing all players to complete their opening rounds with Whitting’s 6-under 66 equal with Denmark’s Nicole Broch Estrup (66) and Taipei’s Peiying Tsai (66) for the day’s best.

The trio are one stroke clear of England’s Cara Gainer (67) and Czech Klara Davidson Spilkova (67) followed by a group of five players at 4-under par.

With the likelihood of more disruption on Sunday, officials explored options to ensure the tournament's successful completion. More rain is expected, and there is a chance of storms mid-afternoon.

As a result, there will be an earlier-than-usual start time of 6:45am with the final group teeing off at 8:46am, the television broadcast to begin at 8:30am AEST.

The cut fell at even par with 67 players advancing to the final round.

As it was for fellow Australian Stephanie Kyriacou four years ago, Sunday shapes as a potential catapult for Whitting’s career trajectory.

The 26-year-old made headlines in January when she won a $90,000 BMW for a hole-in-one at the Webex Players Series Murray River, money she intended to use to fund her LPGA Tour Q Series quest later this year.

With just three starts to her name on the Epson Tour in 2023, the Perth native knows exactly what’s at stake on Sunday.

“The last three years I’ve been trying to do the LPGA and I’ve been falling short,” said Whitting, Saturday’s 66 the first bogey-free round of her career.

“Seeing the competition out here on the LET and seeing that I can compete against them, it might change my goals for the end of the year.

“I don’t know how it works as a non-member, but we’ll have to look into those options.

“If I do end up playing well this week and it helps me ranking wise, it might open some more doors for me.”

A win would earn Whitting an immediate winner’s category on the LET, but she has a veritable united nations of challengers ready to chase her down in Sunday’s sprint to the finish.

Broch Estrup delivered one of the best rounds a week ago to climb into a tie for sixth at the Women’s NSW Open at Magenta Shores while Tsai played in the final group alongside eventual champion, Mariajo Uribe.

It has been nine years since Broch Estrup’s last win on the Ladies European Tour, the Dane using a points system devised by her husband – and occasional caddie – Kasper, to post seven birdies and a lone bogey in Round 1.

“Just try and focus on getting points instead of the score, which I can sometimes be too focused about,” said Broch Estrup.

“There were 10 fairways, nine greens inside six metres and then seven birdies, so that’s a pretty good day. Twenty-six points. Last week I had a round of 27 but that’s definitely a high one.”

With just one round left in which to make her mark, Broch Estrup will lean on the lessons of a week ago to try and end her wait for a third professional win.

“Obviously you got to play a little bit more aggressive, but from my side, it’s more just try and play smart golf,” said Broch Estrup, a winner on the Epson Tour in 2016.

“I did that last week as well. On the Sunday I finished 4-under just playing smart golf. Last week I played super defensive and ended with a T6. I learned a lot from that.”

Kirsten Rudgeley (69) and amateur Annika Rathbone (69) are the next best of the Aussies in a tie for 11th, Queensland amateur Justice Bosio, Kelsey Bennett, Breanna Gill, Danni Vasquez and Kono Matsumoto all in a tie for 39th after rounds of 1-under 71.

For further tournament updates, please visit the tournament website, www.auswomensclassic.com.au.