Norman predicts near-20-under win

Dubai: Australian legend and Earth Course designer Greg Norman has projected the winning score at DWC to be just short of the 20-under range.

"The feedback I've received is the players are happy with it, so we'll just see how it plays out. This golf course was built as a residential community course; it wasn't designed specifically for tournament play. These guys don't hit the ball 280, they hit the ball 320, so you have to change that a little," Norman said.

"We've made some adjustments; more on the back nine, the last four holes, to make sure it was a bit more of a high-quality tournament-play finish. It's over to the European Tour; they decide to get the greens a little bit quicker and a little bit firmer and the scores obviously come down dramatically. I see an 17-, 18-, 19-under number winning this tournament."

Meanwhile, European Tour chief executive George O'Grady has rubbished rumours that the 2010 edition of the Race to Dubai and the Dubai World Championship could be in doubt or suffer as a result of the global financial meltdown.

Furthermore, O'Grady insisted he is "extremely confident" players competing in the DWC and RTD next year will be chasing a purse similar to that offered this weekend.

As per plan

In May, the European Tour announced it was slashing its prize money for the 2009 Race and DWC by 25 per cent to $7.5 million, but O'Grady said that if all went according to plan and the tournament lived up to its billing, nothing could stop promoters Leisurecorp and The European Tour from honouring the five-year contract.

"Well, you're either confident or you're not confident, and I'm confident; extremely confident. I think if this tournament is as successful as we think it's going to be and as long as everything goes well, the contract is there and they [Leisurecorp] intend to honour it. I do read of the gloom and doom in the newspapers, which could make people think twice, but there's my answer: extremely confident," O'Grady told a room full of media people on Wednesday.

"It's a five-year contract and all contracts can be examined. We have examined this one on prize money levels [reducing the purse from $10 million to $7.5 million], taking into account the global economic situation, which has gone down very well in this part of the world."