Malaysian ladies number one Kelly Tan scored one of the biggest upsets on the first day of the Bank of Hope LPGA Match-Play presented by MGM, with a 7 and 5 victory over fourth seed Danielle Kang.

Tan won six straight holes from the fifth at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas, building a 7-up lead over the American star who has been battling a back injury for the past month.

“I thought I played really well today, gave myself lots of chances. Yeah, we played against Danielle today and it didn't seem like she, it looked like she was in a little bit of pain, which, I felt a little bad,” said Tan.

“Me and my caddie were just trying to focus on my game. The end goal is to win the match and we did, and I'm super proud of the way I played.”

After a month of rest and treatment, Kang looked to the match-play format on her home course to test herself in competition ahead of next week’s US Women’s Open.

“I'm just doing everything I can off the golf course to get me through the days and to get back to where I was, and it's going to take some time,” said Kang, a member at Shadow Creek. “It's going to take some patience and time for everybody. I just need to thank my team for getting me here. It's a little win that I have to take right now.”

Tan's next match is against Thailand's Pajaree Anannarukarn.