WORLD number one Tiger Woods feels Dubai is the number one place in the world. "What they are doing is phenomenal," said Woods, who is making his fifth appearance in the Dubai Desert Classic.

"I haven''t seen anything like this and I don''t think anyone anywhere around the world has seen this of growth. Golf is just one component of it. Since the time I have been coming over here, the skyline keens changing, keeps evolving and people keep coming here and thoroughly enjoy it.

"Golf is a big draw here and the weather is great," said Woods who is also designing his first course in Dubai.

"I will visit the site this week. Two holes have already been shaped and we are working on the third. The schedule was thrown off a little bit, but we are starting to get things cranking, which is nice.

I spend hours just looking at plans and thinking, trying to give the developers what they want. That's my responsibility and, hopefully, I can do that and deliver," said Woods who will be looking for a second Dubai Desert Classic, having launched his 2008 campaign this season in typical dashing fashion by equaling Arnold Palmer's record 62 victories on the US UGA Tour.

Should he win in DUBAI, he would equal Colin Montgomerie's record of 31 European Tour titles.

Woods was awesome in winning last week's Buick Invitational, and is looking forward to tee it up in Dubai, totally focused on the job at hand. "This is not a sport where can directly influence someone else.

"You have got to worry about your own game, take care of your own business and see where you stand come Sunday afternoon," said Woods who is paired with Montgomerie and Niclas Fasth for the first two rounds.

"You don't win for anybody else. You do it for yourself and your family. That's who you play for. You don't play to please the media, the sponsors, the fans or anything like that.

You go out there and you play to win because what's what you want to do. You don't go out there tee it up to win for someone else. That's something my mom and dad have always stressed that you go out there and compete for yourself. And if you don't want to do it anymore – you walk."

THE statistics are staggering – 32 victories on the US PGA Tour, 30 on the European Tour and 13 in the majors. Tiger Woods is number one by far. He knows it, the world knows it.

But he still has self doubts – and that's his driving force!

"Yes, I do have self doubts," he said. "That's part of the game of golf and part of life. Because of those doubts, you keep pushing through and keep improving," said Woods, who, however, has set no target for himself as a golfer.

"You just take it as it comes. When I turned pro I never thought I could achieve so much so soon in my career. At that time my game wasn't good enough. I had not matured and had not understood how to play the game of golf," he said.

"Over the years, I have learnt with the experience how to manage my game around the course and getting most out of it each and every day."

Source: Golf In Dubai News