Woods $1B Dubai golf course 'on track'

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Tiger Woods said he is not sure whether he will be ready to defend his title at the Dubai Desert Classic early next year as he recovers from a knee operation.

The world's top-ranked golfer beat the pain barrier to win the U.S. Open in June but was then forced to sit out the rest of the 2008 season following reconstructive surgery on his left knee to repair a torn ligament.

"It's frustrating for me," he said Monday of the injury at an event to promote a golf course he helped design in the Persian Gulf city.

Woods said his schedule heading into next year is uncertain, but that he plans to "be hitting golf balls at the beginning of the year."

The Dubai Desert Classic begins January 27.

Woods is already the world's highest paid athlete. And if all goes according to plan, he'll soon be sporting his biggest trophy yet: a luxury course hewn from the sands of the Arabian desert.

The ambitious project, touted as the first course in the world designed by the world No. 1, remains a work in progress on the outskirts of this Middle Eastern boomtown -- much like the rapidly growing city itself.

But the project's chief said Monday that the first phase of the development, which among other unlikely features promises 5 million square feet of locally grown grass and more than 30,000 full-grown imported trees, is on target for completion in the last three months of 2009.

"Our schedule is currently on track," Abdulla Al Gurg said in an interview with The Associated Press.

However, Gurg did leave the Dubai-based developer Tatweer room for maneuver in case the city's notorious work delays snag one of its most high-profile projects, adding: "Our key criteria is adherence to excellence."

Tatweer is a division of Dubai Holding, which is owned by the Emirate and its ruler, Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

The golf course project, known as The Tiger Woods Dubai, will be part of a massive theme-park complex known as Dubailand the company is building on barren desert along the edge of the city.

Gurg said the company is spending 4 billion dirhams -- about $1.09 billion -- to build the course and the surrounding housing development.

Full-page ads in Emirates newspapers have been trying to entice local buyers to consider one of the 197 so-called palaces, mansions and villas that will flank the course.

The project's first stage will consist of the 18-hole, par 72 course itself, as well as a golf academy and a driving range. A hotel and most of the gated housing community should be finished by the second or third quarter of 2010, Gurg said.

Despite its dry, desert climate -- temperatures on Monday hovered around 100 degrees Fahrenheit, or 38 degrees Celsius -- Dubai is rapidly becoming a major golfing destination.

The city, which is banking on tourism to diversify its economy, each year hosts the Dubai Desert Classic and Dubai Ladies Masters.

Woods said he drew inspiration for his first course from clubs in the "sandbelt" golfing region near Melbourne, Australia. "We want this golf course to play fast, quick," he said, while remaining appealing to a broad range of players.

Woods is not the only golfer laying out links in Dubai.

An 18-hole course designed by Colin Montgomerie was launched in 2006, and another by Ernie Els opened earlier this year. Greg Norman, Sergio Garcia, Pete Dye and Vijay Singh are also working on courses scheduled to open this year or next.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.