Tiger Woods Made $52.5M For Failed Golf Course

Golfer previously thought to have been paid "only" $20M for defunct Dubai links

Tiger Woods has done a couple of things right in recent years: He got paid more than $50 million to design a golf course in Dubai that never got off the drawing board.

Had the course been built, Woods would have cashed in for $98.8 million, according to a report.

The recently divorced superstar was previously thought to have pocketed a mere $20 million for his work on the Tiger Woods Dubai golf course and development. But records cited by Arabian  Business magazine show that the world's then-top golfer made far more than that, even though the whole project was a casualty of the financial meltdown.

“This decision was based on current market conditions that do not support high-end luxury real estate," UAE developer Tatweer said last week. "These conditions will continue to be monitored and a decision will be made in the future when to restart the project."

Woods was paid an initial $26.25 million for the initial development and global promotion of the planned 55 million square foot development. In late 2008, just prior to worldwide financial meltdown, the deal was expanded to pay Woods another $26.2 million.

The course was never built, but if it had been, Woods was in line to receive another $14.6 million to promote it and $28.8 million to develop another course with the company.

Woods recently said he hopes to meet soon with Dubai Properties to discuss reviving the development.

Prior to Woods' divorce, in which ex-wife Elin Nordegren got an undisclosed sum, the golfer was believed to be worth nearly $1 billion.

Woods, 35, took a two-month leave of absence from golf after a Nov. 27, 2009, car accident that ignited a sex scandal and unleashed a parade of women who claimed to have had affairs with the married father of two. He later resurfaced saying he had been in treatment and is trying to recapture his form on the links.

Now ranked No. 3 in the world, Woods is currently playing in Dubai, in the Desert Classic. He shot a disappointing 71 in the first round.

Selected Reading: NBC Sports, Arabian Business, ESPN.

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