Woods selected as AP Male Athlete of 2006 in close vote over LT

Tiger Woods had an answer for everything.

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' domain 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 without breaking a sweat.

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.