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RIO DE JANEIRO -- Rio de Janeiros Olympic golf course took three years to build as the project was slowed down by environmental lawsuits, Brazilian bureaucracy and stop-and-start funding by a billionaire real estate developer.Four months after golfs surprising popularity at the Olympics, an even larger test remains: What to do with an acclaimed course in a country where few play the game, and in a city that cant pay to maintain it.You know that its not going to be easy, Paulo Pacheco, head of the Brazilian Golf Confederation, told The Associated Press. Its challenging. Its not easy to do. Its very hard. I think its the only opportunity we have to improve golf in Brazil.Everything feels unfinished around the course, except the course itself, which threatens to become a white elephant.Billed as the first public championship-level course in the country, the layout is hidden behind several luxury apartment towers known as Riserva Golf, which wont be completed until 2018. Cinderblock walls and fencing obstruct the view from the street, and no signs mark the entrance to the course in the western Rio suburb of Barra da Tijuca.Once through the rutted parking lot and inside the clubhouse, theres no pro shop, few furnishings, no local club professional and no restaurant.And few players.Only four middle-age men were on the course one morning this week, though the early rain showers didnt help. Even in good weather, attendance has been sparse in a city of 6 million that has only 1,500 golfers.Brazil has about 20,000 players. compared to 25 million in the United States, and the game is played almost exclusively by the wealthy.Another problem: Who will pay to keep the course running? Out-going Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes says the city cant pay. He has said repeatedly he would not have pushed to build the course were in not for the Olympics.Its not a popular sport in Brazil, Paes said last year. But there are some things you need to do when you deliver the Olympics.Last week, a state court froze Paes assets as a public prosecutor investigates whether he improperly waived an environmental tax for the course builder. The builders assets were also frozen.The state of Rio de Janeiro has declared a financial calamity and is several months behind in paying teachers and public employees. And the country itself is in the deepest recession in decades, with unemployment at 12 percent.Pacheco, who has been managing the course, was vague in explaining how it will stay afloat. He said he would be leaving the job in a few weeks, and that negotiations were taking place with a new management company that could take over Jan. 1. But nothings been signed with just two weeks to go.Pacheco said employees of the present management company were being partially paid and were still working as both sides work out a pay settlement. Some employees complained several weeks ago about not being paid.Neil Cleverly, the Briton who helped build the layout and had been managing maintenance, is no longer working at the course since his visa expired. Pacheco said it would be six months before the course was fully operating, and estimated the cost to maintain the layout at between $75,000-100,000 monthly.World golf officials are concerned.As has been the case since the very beginning of this project, getting an accurate picture of the current situation on the ground, and the best parties responsible for the short- and long-term success of the Olympic Golf Course, has been difficult, said Ty Votaw, vice president of the International Golf Federation.Pacheco acknowledged that local golf officials have been slow in getting organized. He said a new website and Rio tourist agencies would soon be promoting the course, which will charge $80 green fees after Jan. 1 for Brazilians and foreigners.The IGF is worried, he said. Its the legacy you have to give back to the Olympics.In a deal with the city, billionaire developer Pasquale Mauro spent about $20 million to build the course in exchange for permission to construct multi-million-dollar apartments on some of Rios most desirable real estate.Its not just any course. From a wetland area -- formerly part of a nature reserve -- American golf architect Gil Hanse carved out a links-style layout with undulating fairways that bump up against scrubland brimming with wildflowers.Local animal life includes small alligators, nesting owls, and a large rodent called a capybara that leaves tracks through the courses abundant bunkers.Players raved about the course during the Olympics.Gil did a good job taking nothing and turning it into a great golf course without having time to make any changes or adjustments, American Rickie Fowler said. Theres a lot of fun characteristics.Marcos Dias, one for four players alone on the course one day this week, said it could be a milestone in developing young Brazilian talent.There was no place to practice. Now I have everything to improve my game, Dias said. In the United States you have a real good scenario to develop your game. Its like here with soccer. Wherever you go here you find a soccer field. But for golf, its really rare to have a course like this to play.---AP Golf Writer Doug Ferguson, and AP video journalist Renata Brito contributed to this report.---Stephen Wade on Twitter: http://twitter.com/StephenWade . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/stephen-wade Jerseys For Sale Outlet . The 31-year-old Spain midfielder hasnt played since Madrid lost in the Copa del Rey final to Atletico Madrid in May due to back and foot injuries. Wholesale Jerseys For Sale . Q: Team Canada announces their Olympic roster three weeks from today. Who is general manager Steve Yzerman watching? LeBrun: Over the last 48 hours, hes taken in the home-and-home between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche with Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene being the obvious targets. https://www.jerseysforsalechina.com/ . The (11-11-4) Jets are seventh in the Central Division with 26 points. Fifth place Dallas and sixth-seeded Nashville also have 26 points, but the Stars have three games in hand on Winnipeg while Nashville has two. China Jerseys For Sale . Radwanska, making her debut in the Seoul tournament, hit eight aces in a match that lasted 1 hour, 4 minutes at Olympic Park tennis stadium. "It was definitely a very good match -- I was playing really good tennis," Radwanska said. Cheap Jerseys For Sale . -- Patrick Reed got an early start in golf. CHICAGO -- A family spokesman says a cousin of Chicago Bulls star Dwyane Wade has been fatally shot while pushing a baby in a stroller on the citys South Side.Pastor Edward Jones says 32-year-old Nykea Aldridge was walking to register her children for school Friday after recently relocating.Basketball star Wade posted on Twitter: My cousin was killed today in Chicago. Another act of senseless gun violence. 4 kids lost their mom for NO REASON. Unreal.Chicago police say Aldridge wwas killed when two males walked up and fired shots at a third man Friday afternoon but shot Aldridge in her head and an arm.dddddddddddd. Police say she wasnt the intended target.Police say the baby wasnt hurtPolice say one of the males who fired shots was being questioned Friday.---This version of the story corrects the spelling of Wades first name. ' ' '