The much-delayed announcement of the design team for the Rio 2016 Olympics golf course is expected in the next two days.

A team of International Olympic Committee inspectors is visiting Rio on Tuesday and Wednesday, 5-6 March, to review progress towards the 2016 Games, and the announcement regarding the Olympic golf design competition is planned to coincide with this visit, according to sources close to the Games.

Delaying the decision came as a surprising to the eight bidders for the design contract, who visited Rio to give their final presentations at the end of January. An announcement at the end of that week was widely trailed, but the decision to delay was eventually confirmed, amid much confusion among bidders.

Speculation on the reason for delay has been rife across the golf industry, with attention focusing on the site chosen for the course at Reserva da Marapendi in the Barra da Tijuca district of the city. Securing the property was an issue for the organisers, and some sources have questioned whether or not the land deal has finally been done.

The timetable for construction calls for ground to be broken on the course later this year, with test events to be held in 2015, the year before the Games.