Ireland's World Cup winning pair of Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley went into this week's Johnnie Walker Classic, in Thailand, admittedly a little rusty after a well-earned layoff.

McGinley and Harrington were joined by compatriots Philip Walton and Raymond Burns as they tackled the Blue Canyon Country Club course, located on the resort island of Phuket, off the southern tip of Thailand.

Sauna-like conditions greeted the field of 156 for this first event of the 1998 European Tour, with the Classic again attracting a strong field of international players, headed by Tiger Woods, the current world number one ranked player.

It is Woods' second visit to Thailand, the birthplace of his mother, Kultida, as a professional in 11 months. Last February, he was treated like a film star, with his arrival covered live on Thai national radio and television when he competed in the Asian Masters, which he won by 10 shots.

On this occasion, however, his arrival was low-key, with just a handful of officials on hand to welcome him when his private jet touched down in Phuket. The youngest ever US Masters champion is rumoured to have been paid $1 million to compete this week. Britain's heavyweight trio of Nick Faldo, Ian Woosnam and Lee Westwood are also in the field, along with the defending champion, Ernie Els. Harrington, enjoying a refreshing ice cream in between practising his short-iron play, indicated he really does not know what to expect in this Tour season-opener.

"I really can't expect too much this week, so we'll have to wait to see what happens," he said. "That's the interesting thing about this time of year, because you never know how you are going to come out and play. So I'm looking for a nice, steady start."

Harrington had hardly touched a club since the World Cup win. He did attend MacGregor Week, a Tour-sponsored training school in Spain late last year, but it was not until early this month that he began to practice in earnest.

"I didn't play any serious golf for five weeks after the World Cup, and I also came out to Thailand four days early to get a bit acclimatised to the hot weather as well to get a bit more practice in. So I'm definitely a bit rusty.

"But then, the more rounds of golf I play the quicker I get rid of the rust."

Harrington, runner-up in the Volvo Masters to Westwood, the last event of 1997, is determined to improve on his efforts of last year. The young Dubliner, who was married in December, has set himself new goals, but not based on what he achieved, or did not achieve, last season.

"This is a new year, as they say, and for a start I'm not going to play as much early on in the year. I had a very good finish to the year, which was kind of funny, especially after having what I thought was a long hard year.

"I keep my goals to myself, but I can say that I'm really looking forward to this event and hopefully playing well this year."

Westwood also has no plans for a quick start to the season. "I have not played much competitive golf for 10 weeks," he said.

"I will be happy with playing well here and finishing in the top 10."