Irishman Padraig Harrington says he is poised to hit top form again after a tough few months in which he struggled to come down from the highs of his spectacular back-to-back Major victories.

In an ominous sign for his rivals at the HSBC Champions tournament starting here on Thursday, the world number five said he felt refreshed and energised again after a few relatively quiet weeks.

`My motivation didn`t drop, but the adrenaline levels dropped,` Harrington told reporters about the after-effects of his victories at the British Open and the PGA Championships.

`When you have such a high, two Major wins, it really does take it out of you. I didn`t recover for a good while afterwards and I am only just recovering now.`

Harrington emphasised that he felt only a slight drop in form, but that made the difference between winning tournaments and falling back among the pack.

`It is hard to see it but you end up maybe a shot or two worse off each day, and that adds up at the end of the week. So I definitely saw it in my form,` the 37-year-old said at a tournament promotional event late on Tuesday.

`I knew what was happening... it`s a natural reaction. It`s the body saying it needs a bit of time to rest.`

But, after playing just two tournaments in the past month, he said he was feeling fresh again.

`I feel like I`m ready to play. I`m looking forward to getting out there and putting up a strong performance,` he said.

Harrington is one of the favourites at the five-million-dollar HSBC Champions tournament, a European and Asian co-sanctioned event that has drawn more than half of the world`s top 20 ranked players.

World number two Phil Mickelson, Spain`s Sergio Garcia, ranked third, and European Order of Merit winner Robert Karlsson from Sweden are some of the other big names in Shanghai this week.

The event is also the official start of the European Tour`s 2009 season, which gives it extra importance as it launches the inaugural and lucrative `Race to Dubai.`

The top 60 players on the European Tour will qualify for the season-ending Dubai World Championship, where 20 million dollars are at stake.