Rio mayor in spirited golf defence

Brushing aside protests by ecologists at the choice of a nature reserve for an Olympic golf course, Rio's mayor on Wednesday gave a spirited defence of the project.
"Lies and more lies -- they should check their facts," insisted Eduardo Paes, derided by green campaigners as an "enemy of the Atlantic forest" and a "bandit" by protesters gathering to vent their anger as he arrived to show off the site.
Paes launched into a lengthy and energetic explanation of why the site in the western suburb of Barra de Tijuca had been chosen rather than either of two existing courses.
"I just don't see how you can term this an environmental 'crime'," Paes told reporters after side-stepping a small protest by the Ocupa Golfe pressure group fronted by a topless woman wielding a "Paes bandido" (bandit) banner.
He stressed the scheme, whose grass and holes have already been laid, would see vegetation in the vicinity greatly increased.
Protesters have loudly protested the choice of the reserve at the Marapendi Park and made legal challenges "because they are destroying fauna and flora and it is all about making money for the developers," who are building luxury residential tower blocks just off the course, campaigner Bernardo Nadal, 19, told AFP.
Paes said the licences to construct real estate in the area predated the award of the Games.
He added the reintroduction of golf on the Games timetable in any case came after Rio won its bid to host, thus requiring the city to amend its overall plans and accommodate the sport.
Paes also pointed to communications between authorities and the world golf authorities with the latter acknowledging existing private courses were too small or had a mixture of technical issues making them unsuitable.
One, the Itanhanga Golf Club, has previously hosted European Tour and LPGA events.
Instead, a R$60 million reais ($20 million, 18.2 million euros) scheme has seen a new course emerge which, Paes stressed, would have "a public legacy that we can be proud of."
A legal spat at one stage threatened to torpedo the course as golf makes a return to the Olympics after 112 years with campaigners saying the course would have a detrimental environmental impact.
But Paes insisted the course development met all legal obligations and the end result would offer a vastly greater area of parkland than downtown Flamengo park.
He pointed to old pictures of the area showing largely bald terrain -- "you can see what a state it was in" -- and said organizers were extending vegetation by a factor of seven to 650,000 square metres.
Paes also rejected claims that course irrigation would worsen water shortages in a country which has suffered severe drought in recent months.
"So what is better? Before or after the golf? They say an environmental crime is happening here. I say that is a lie.
"I am so convinced of what we are doing. This was becoming a bad news item as people were not understanding it," said Paes, expressing pride in the preparations.
"I think the Olympics is an opportunity to show Brazil has become a better country.
"I am not saying the country is perfect but that it is not only Petrobras," he said referring to the oil firm mired in a huge graft scandal.
Also Wednesday, organizers opened the doors of volunteer centres as they reduce an initial 240,000 applicants to 70,000 volunteers for next year's August 5 to 21 Games, South America's first.
Fifteen centres opened nationwide for candidate interviews -- two of them in Rio. Candidates in far-flung states and those abroad will be interviewed over the internet.
Course superintendant Neil Cleverly told AFP that the Gil Hanse-designed course was exciting and challenging.
"It favors the short game with a challenging last three holes -- but every single hole has got a different measure of difficulty. There's going to be some players who will shoot horrible numbers!"