Padraig Harrington has arrived in Kuala Lumpur and this week’s Maybank Championship quietly confident his injured wrist has fully healed ahead of teeing-up on the Saujana CC course.

This week is ‘take two’ in Harrington’s attempt to kick-start his 2019 season after injuring his wrist on December 19th after slipping on the staircase of his Dublin residence.  It wasn’t till he underwent an x-ray that he broken a bone in his wrist.

The injury was no more evident when Harrington attended a press conference on 8th January to be officially confirmed as 2020 European Ryder Cup captain but with his wrist heavily strapped.

Harrington immediately ruled himself out two events in the UAE as he recovered from the injury.

Fifteen years ago – Golden locks Padraig Harrington ahead of the 2004 Carlsberg Malaysian Open. (Photo by good friend Stuart Franklin/Getty)

He entered the Honda Classic earlier this month but the former double PGA National champion was forced to withdraw from the event as doctors were not confident the injury had fully healed.

Harrington is the lone Irishman in the co-sanctioned European and Asian Tour field.

And the now 47-year old Harrington is no stranger competing in steamy KL having contested the then named Malaysian Open nine times in his career from a first appearance in finishing T4th in 1999 to his last showing in finishing T6th in 2013.

In the 2000 Malaysian Open at Templer Park Harrington finished bogey, bogey to let slip victory and share second place.

A year later at Saujana, Harrington lost out in a three-hole play-off in rather bizarre circumstances to then Masters champion, Vijay Singh of Fiji.

Harrington had birdied the 69th and 70th holes to move into the lead at 15-under par and one clear of Singh in the group ahead but then unbeknown to Harrington and with no leader boards on the course, Singh doubled the 17th.

Reports at the time said Harrington was ‘in between clubs’ standing over his second down 17 only to send his approach through the green and take bogey but still be one clear of Singh but Harrington was not aware of that.

“Had I been aware of the situation on 17 I would have been less aggressive,” said Harrington.

But up front, Singh birdied the par-5 18th hole that Harrington failed to match and sent the event into a play-off.

The duo was still even after replaying the 18th twice before heading to the 17th and with Singh making no mistake is posting a victory birdie and with Harington walking off with a bogey for a second time over that final day.