Tiger Named Athlete of Year

[q url="http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=2708184&campaign=rss&source=ESPNHeadlines"]Tiger Woods had an answer for everything.

AP male athlete of the year voting

Athlete Points

Tiger Woods 260

LaDainian Tomlinson 230

Roger Federer 110

Dwyane Wade 40

Albert Pujols 20

Ryan Howard 20

Vince Young 10

Shaun White 10

Floyd Landis 10

When he missed the cut at the U.S. Open for the first time in a major -- his first tournament after his father died of cancer -- some questioned whether he could rekindle his desire to dominate. He never finished worse than second in stroke play the rest of the season.

Phil Mickelson emerged anew as a serious threat to Woods by winning his second straight major at The Masters and nearly making it three in a row at the U.S. Open. Woods responded by winning the next two majors.

And there remained skepticism about his latest swing change, put to rest by a year that ranked among Woods' best ever on the PGA Tour. He won eight times in 15 starts, six in a row to close out his season, two more majors to reach 12 for his career.

About the only thing he couldn't answer was how he was voted AP Male Athlete of the Year.

Woods won the award over San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson, with tennis great Roger Federer a distant third. The 31-year-old Woods won for the fourth time in his career, tying the record set by Lance Armstrong, who won the last four years.

While pleased to hear he had won the award, Woods was perplexed it did not go to his good friend Federer, who continues to dominate tennis. Woods was in Federer's box at Flushing Meadows when the Swiss star captured the U.S. Open title.

"What he's done in tennis, I think, is far greater than what I've done in golf," Woods said. "He's lost what ... five matches in three years? That's pretty good."

Federer has actually lost a few more than that, but not many. His record in 2006 was an amazing 92-5, including 12 singles titles.