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Property firm stands by Tiger

Thursday, February 04, 2010

Source: Catherine Deshayes

At last some good news for disgraced golfer Tiger Woods, his luxury golf course and property complex in Dubai will be completed as planned after being pushed months behind schedule by the emirate's real estate property slump...

Although no date for completion is being given by the developers Tatweer, part of Dubai properties Group, designs for the villas are being completed before construction starts, a spokesman said.

‘We haven't decided yet on a date for its completion or delivery to the market, but the project is ongoing,' said chief executive Khalid Al Malik. Work on the course, designed by Woods and originally due to be finished by September 2009, is also progressing. Al Malik said it has reached the eighth hole.

He admitted that the development, that is to include 287 luxury villas and mansions, a boutique hotel and a clubhouse, has been hit by the economic downturn but everyone is committed to finishing it. Woods has a minority stake in the project and has visited to see progress several times.

Representatives of his design firm, Tiger Woods Design based in Windermere, Florida, where Wood's recent car crash prompted a rash of revelations about his private life, have also been on site, Al Malik confirmed. He also said there are no plans to cut their links with the golfer amid the revelations about his adultery.

Woods is reported to be undergoing treatment in a sex clinic and has not played golf since the revelations became public. Sponsors including AT&T Accenture have ended their sponsorship deals with Woods, while Procter & Gamble said it would phase him out of its Gillette TV and print ads.

Al Malik said he doesn't believe that the association with Woods and his personal life has hurt the project. ‘We haven't experienced any change,' he declared.

In November 2007, the developer said Woods planned to build a 16,500 square foot mansion overlooking the golf course that would include a gym, theatre, library and pool but now it is not known if this will go ahead.

While some villas and mansions are on sale for between $12 million and £23 million others will not be released until completion.

Meanwhile in the US the developer of another of his golf courses, The Cliffs at High Carolina near Asheville in the Blue Ridge Mountains, is also standing by Woods. ‘We're as committed as ever to High Carolina and the Tiger Woods golf course. The reasons we chose Tiger are still true: his dedication to golf and he is the greatest golfer in the world,' said developer Jim Anthony.