"Harder to bear, however, will be the dent to his pride."
/Lawrence Donegan fleshes out more details on the delays with Tiger Woods' Al Ruwaya project, which he says will "not open this autumn and has been pushed back to 2010 or even later," amid claims that the real estate element of the project will be delayed indefinitely.
He also offers this conclusion about Woods:
A long-time aficionado of golf course architecture, as well as a fierce guardian of his image, he will not be happy to have his name or his first foray into the field of course design associated with anything less than an unqualified success. Even if the global economy does eventually recover, it will be some time before Dubai restores its reputation as the coming destination for the newly wealthy.
Doug Ferguson reports that Tiger addressed the reports, saying there is a six-month delay and that the decision to move ahead will be based on the economy.
Woods said Beau Welling, his chief architect at Tiger Woods Design, has continued to travel between Dubai and two other courses under construction in North Carolina (The Cliffs at High Carolina) and Mexico (Punta Brava).
His course in Dubai had only three holes under construction when work was suspended.
"We're making sure we get the holes completed - the holes we have," he said. "I think we have three holes right now."
He said the course in Dubai needs irrigation to keep the sand in place because of arid conditions and the wind. Woods said on one of his visits, the sweeping wind "changed the whole outline of one hole."
Woods said his courses in North Carolina and Mexico are awaiting various permits, but otherwise are on schedule. The Cliffs at High Carolina is expected to be finished in the middle of 2010, while the Mexico course with spectacular ocean views is not scheduled to be completed until late 2010.
