Kelly Tan is holding her head high after an unbeaten run in the Bank of Hope LPGA Match Play, despite not making it to the knockout stage.

Competing in her first match play event, the Malaysian ladies' number one squared her third and final round-robin match on Friday against Korea's Ji Eun Hee to end her campaign with 2 points from a win and two ties. Ji, the 2009 US Women's Open champion, finished with 2.5 points from two wins and a tie to top Group 4 and advance to the knockout stage.

In the match against Ji, Kelly was two-up with two holes to play but the Korean player birdied the 17th to narrow the deficit to one. On the last hole, Ji holed a long putt to save par and tie the match as Kelly made bogey.

"It was an incredible experience and I loved every minute. I can’t wait to play again next year. It was exciting and I am sure it’s even more fun for the fans to watch," said Kelly, who had upset American star Danielle Kang in her first match and squared Thailand's Pajaree Anannarukarn in her second.

"Not many people can say they are undefeated at match play and not moving on. I am so proud of myself and putting myself in these types of positions only builds my confidence. I have been playing great golf this year and each week the game is getting stronger," she added.

The 64-player event featured a round-robin of 16 groups of four players, with each group winner progessing to the single-elimination knockout stage to determine the champion.

Kelly will now enjoy some time off, having missed out on qualifying for next week's US Women's Open.

"I am excited to have some time off and enjoy beautiful weather back in Calgary. There are a few really big stretches of tournaments coming up and rest will be important. I really wish I had four more matches this week but I'm going to enjoy the rest and keep climbing," said the 28-year-old.