Ladies European Tour rookie Sarah Nicholson of New Zealand took the overnight lead following the first day's play at a rain-beaten UNIQA Ladies Golf Open presented by Raiffeisen.
The 22-year-old shot a five-under 67 to take a two stroke clubhouse lead at Golfclub Föhrenwald in Wiener Neustadt. She has played in only five European events so far this season with a best finish of tied 28th in Northern Ireland. Sweden's Elin Ohlsson was the next best placed player on three-under-par.
Nicholson was one of a handful of players to have completed a full first round before first round play was suspended for the day at 6.40pm due to darkness. Heavy rainfall caused tournament officials to suspend play by more than five-and-a-half hours at 8.50am.
The first ten groups – playing off two tees – managed less than an hours' play before the first round was halted as rain continued to batter the course.
After several green inspections, officials finally allowed play to resume at 2.30pm. The first round play will now be completed on Friday morning from 8am, with some time to spare in case of any further weather delays.
The event will be reduced from 72 holes to 54 holes, with the cut taking place after the conclusion of the second round on Saturday to the leading 60 players and ties. The final round remains scheduled for Sunday.