Padraig Harrington admits he will struggle to rekindle his 2010 Iskandar Johor Open success given the continued threat of electrical storms this week. (Report by Bernie McGuire, Johor, Malaysia).

Harrington managed to play just one hole in yesterday afternoon’s (TUES) Pro-Am before thunderstorms hit the Horizon Hills Country Club course in Malaysia’s southernmost state located an hour drive from the heart of Singapore.

The triple Major winner could do nothing but join fellow British Open champion, Louis Oosthuizen and others sitting around the clubhouse before any further play was abandoned some two-and-a-half hours prior to the start of the event.

There are photographs of Harrington wearing the winner’s purple jacket and holding aloft the gleaming silver trophy all about the clubhouse, and on large billboards in and around Johor.

Harrington ended a two-year winless drought to capture the then Asian Tour event but that was in the second week of October 2010 compared to the staging of this year’s inaugural co-sanctioned event in the second week of November.

“This Horizons course is substantially different when I won here last year as it was drier with not one stoppage all week due to any rain,” said Harrington.

“I was getting between 30 to 50 yards run on the fairways in winning last year but we’re going to be struggling this year with even some balls getting buried completely under the fairways as they’re that soft.

“There were completely different lines of the fairways and on the lay-up holes you were struggling not to run out of fairway.

“So with all this rain the lay-up holes are going to be much easier but the longer holes are going to be that much tougher.

“And the key to my win last year was that I hit the ball a really long way.  That was my big advantage I felt over the field, the length I was hitting off the tee and then getting the enormous run on the fairways.

“I also holed you do when you win a tournament.”

The threat of more thunderstorms could see the inaugural co-sanctioned event headed down the same route as last week’s Barclays Singapore Open that was reduced to 54-holes and also a Monday play-off.

“If this rain continues we could very well be staring at 54 holes or even fewer so the key is going to be getting off to a fast start,” said Harrington.

“So if you are not up there early on, and we do get more rain, then it will be hard to make up ground if it is reduced.

“But it’s nice coming back here to Johor and seeing my picture up there on the wall and on billboards alongside the roadways.

“What will be important for me will be to manage those good vibes and don’t let the expectations interfere with that.

“So it’s kind of like a double-edged sword every time you come back to defend a tournament and especially when you think back to winning because you don’t remember hitting a back shot that particular week.

”It’s probably not true but then it all helps.”