ESPN Golf

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Tiger Woods has not ruled himself out of defending his Dubai Desert Classic title in late January despite needing time to recover after reconstructive knee surgery.

The world No. 1 decided to have surgery on his left knee for a fourth time after winning the U.S. Open in mid-June, ending his 2008 PGA Tour campaign.

"I don't know my schedule for next year … I will be hitting golf balls at the beginning of the year," Woods said at a news conference Monday.

Speaking at the launch of a $1.09 billion golf project Woods designed in Dubai, the winner of 14 major titles said the injury was "frustrating" but he did not rule himself out from the desert event which begins on Jan. 27.

"I don't [know] how my knee will heal," he added.

Woods underwent an anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction of his left knee in June. He had torn his knee ligament after last year's British Open at Carnoustie while running.

Woods' ambitious project, touted as the first course in the world designed by the 2008 U.S. Open champ, remains a work in progress on the outskirts of this Middle Eastern boomtown -- much like the rapidly growing city itself.

But the project's chief said Monday that the first phase of the development, which among other unlikely features promises 5 million square feet of locally grown grass and more than 30,000 full-grown imported trees, is on target for completion sometime in the last three months of 2009.

"Our schedule is currently on track," Abdulla Al Gurg said in an interview with The Associated Press.

He wouldn't say how much Woods was being paid.

Gurg spoke following an event to showcase the project at a glitzy beachfront hotel just down the road from a man-made marina surrounded by dozens of skyscrapers, many still under construction.

Full-page ads in Emirates newspapers have been trying to entice local buyers to consider purchasing one of the 197 so-called palaces, mansions and villas that will flank the course.

The project's first stage will consist of the 18-hole, par 72 course itself, as well as a golf academy and a driving range. A hotel and most of the gated housing community should be finished by the second or third quarter of 2010, Gurg said.

On Monday, Woods paid his first visit to the construction site since the knee surgery.

Woods said he drew inspiration for his first course from clubs in the "sandbelt" golfing region near Melbourne, Australia.

"We want this golf course to play fast, quick," he said, while remaining appealing to a broad range of players.

Woods is not the only golfer laying out links in Dubai.

An 18-hole course designed by Colin Montgomerie was launched in 2006, and another by Ernie Els opened earlier this year. Greg Norman, Sergio Garcia, Pete Dye and Vijay Singh are also working on courses scheduled to open this year or next.

Information from Reuters and The Associated Press was used in this report.