AP Athlete of the Decade is Tiger Woods: Vote count matters more than mistress count (video/photos)

Tiger Woods captures Athlete of the Decade award

(Photo: AP/Andrew Brownbill)

Despite three weeks of self-inflicted tabloid hell for Tiger Woods, the Associated Press voted the golf great its Athlete of the Decade.

The AP chose Woods for the honor Wednesday because of the top-ranked golfer’s 10 years of dominance on the golf course. Woods won 56 of the 142 votes that AP member editors cast, according to the AP’s Doug Ferguson.

• View photos of AP's Athlete of the Decade

Lance Armtrong, who overcame cancer and won the Tour de France six times in the past decade, was runner-up with 33 votes. Tennis star Roger Federer came in third, with 25 votes.

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who won three Super Bowls in the past decade, was a distant fifth, with six votes.

Without equal. For the past 10 years, Woods’ achievements on the golf course have been unparalleled by any other athlete in any sport. Tiger’s history of golfing achievements over the past decade are unquestioned.

AP voters most certainly bestowed the honor based on the performance of the athlete who has had the most influence on his sport over the past decade, rather than on real, imagined, or fictional reports and rumors about Woods’ private life that have surfaced in the past weeks.

"Despite the tsunami of negative publicity that will likely tarnish his image, there's no denying that Woods' on-the-course accomplishments set a new standard of dominance within his sport while making golf more accessible to the masses," wrote Stu Whitney, sports editor of the Sioux Falls (SD) Argus Leader, according to Ferguson. "The only proof needed are the television ratings when Tiger plays in a golf tournament, compared to those events when others have to carry the load."

Why Tiger Woods Deserves AP's Athlete of the Decade Award

Dominant. There is no dispute that Woods has dominated his sport as no other athlete has. During the past 10 years, Tiger won 56 PGA Tour victories, which included 12 major championships. His success rate was a “staggering” 30 percent, notes the AP’s Doug Ferguson.

But Woods’ magic on the golf course went well beyond the numbers. Like capturing the U.S. Open, in a playoff, while hobbling around on a busted knee.

Ferguson listed the accomplishments of the world’s greatest golfer, noting that Woods:

• Won first U.S. Open by 15 shots
• Was the youngest player (24) to earn the career Grand Slam
• Earned nine victories by at least eight shots
• Was the first player to finish at double digits under par (12) when he won the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, which Ferguson compared to running a four-minute mile
• Finished the 2000 U.S. Open 15 shots ahead, “the largest margin in 140 years of major championship golf,” according to Ferguson
• Made worldwide headlines by losing the 2009 PGA Championship to Y.E. Yang because it was the first time he’d coughed up a major heading into the final round with the lead
• Has been the top-ranked golfer in the world for all but 32 weeks of the last decade
• Won six PGA Tour events in one season five times, including nine wins in 2000

Clutch. While unbelievably impressive, the stats don't do Woods’ on-course accomplishments justice.

Talk about clutch. Ferguson recalled that 6-iron from a bunker, over the water, and on the green -- to win the tourney in Canada. Then there was the chip at the 2005 Masters that hit the green, did a U-turn, degrees, hung on the lip of the cup, and then dropped in for birdie.

Remember the patented Tiger fist pump after that one?

Woods was also single-handedly responsible for filling the coffers of the PGA Tour and the pockets of his playing partners. Before Woods joined the tour in 1996, purses totaled $65 million; by 2009, prize money had rocketed to $275 million, Ferguson pointed out.

Ratings gold. Then there were the TV ratings, which zoomed when Woods teed it up, and ticket sales, which helped the PGA Tour raise more than $1 billion in charity, according to Ferguson.

"Pick any metric applied to all sports, and his contribution has lifted the game," PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem told Ferguson.

When you relive some of Tiger Woods’ most memorable moments on the golf course, it’s hard to imagine that a second-tier golfer would even question his dominance. Yet Colin Montgomerie did just that. Read about it at Woods has lost his mystique, says Monty.

Relive some of Tiger Woods’ memorable shots in this over-the-top, yet moving, video:

Tiger Woods captures 2009 Athlete of the Year honors