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Harrington ready to challenge again in Spijk

Cape Town - Padraig Harrington is raring to go again at the KLM Open following his best performance on the European Tour for nearly two years on his last start in the Czech Republic.

The three-time Major Champion, whose last victory came at the Portugal Masters in October of 2016, was in contention right up until the end of the Czech Masters and narrowly missed out on adding to his 15 European Tour titles after a back nine birdie blitz from eventual champion Andrea Pavan.

"I was very happy with my form there. Two weeks off can be good and bad - it's nice to have a rest and to get some practice going," said Harrington.

"I was very happy with my game all of the way through which was very solid. It does bring confidence and to do well in tournaments it's not always about how you are hitting the ball but more how you’re going out and playing in a competitive environment and playing well - it does bring some confidence for the rest of the season.

"It's a fine course which is in very good condition so we can expect to see some very good scoring this week on a good solid golf course," he said.

Fresh from a two-week break the Irishman, who claimed second place outright in Prague, returns to action at The Dutch alongside fellow Ryder Cup vice-captain Lee Westwood, who also arrives in the Netherlands in fine form having finished as a runner-up himself in Denmark a fortnight ago.

Set to defend the title he memorably won in 2017 is Romain Wattel, who triumphed by one shot on his 187th European Tour appearance, at The Dutch, 12 months ago.

The Frenchman is one of seven former KLM Open champions in the field this week alongside Westwood, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño, Simon Dyson, Ross Fisher, Martin Kaymer and Peter Hanson.

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