Norman hopes project in Brazil will host golf event in 2016 Olympics

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Despite what he achieved at the British Open last year -- third place at the age of 53 -- Greg Norman is much busier as a golf designer than a golf player right now.

Recent shoulder surgery is keeping the former world No. 1 out of action over the winter, but that didn't stop him from traveling to the United Arab Emirates last week, where the European Tour's climactic Dubai World Championship was played on the Norman-designed Earth Course.

The conclusion of the season-ending showdown means that 14 of his layouts now have staged tournaments. Another, he hopes, will be the Olympics in Brazil in 2016, when golf makes its first appearance on the medal program since 1904.

"Fortunately for me, I have a couple of projects going down there and one of the developers is very much involved with the Olympic movement," Norman said. "Just fate fell in our lap, but whether we get the nod to be the golf course for it, I don't know.

"We will see how it plays out. There is a scramble. Whether it's (Jack) Nicklaus or Ernie Els or (Nick) Faldo, everybody would like to be that golf course, that's for sure.

"Everybody has just got to sit back and wait and see what happens," he added. "We are in the design phase right now and I would say we will probably know in the next couple of years. We'll start construction in the next year.

"For golf to get in the Olympics was the best thing that could ever happen to international golf," Norman said. "It's a huge shot in the arm for countries like China, South America, India, the Asian countries.

"Just talk about China. Three million golfers there by 2020 and there will be more there than in the United States if it keeps growing the way it's going to grow."

The global economic crisis hit Dubai hard and the prize money paid out was down 25 percent on what was announced at the launch of the European Tour's 'Race to Dubai' two years ago.

Many of the houses lining the fairways of the Earth Course at the Jumeirah Golf Estates have yet to be completed, but Norman was unconcerned.

"The philosophy here was to build and get your deposit down," he explained. "Some developers have a different attitude and do it in stages. Right now everybody is looking at the negative side instead of the positive side, but everybody is really committed to the effort here and the contractual obligations are going to be honoured.

"You do have to make adjustments on the fly when something of this magnitude happens on a global basis," he said. "A lot of wealth is lost as we all know, so there has to be some correction, but don't focus on the fact that there's a lot of empty buildings here.

"Focus in on the fact that there's a lot of wisdom and foresight and vision to really go ahead and believe that this could be where it should be and where it will be," he added. "It will take time. It will come back."

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