Tiger Woods named Athlete of the Decade

Tiger Woods named Athlete of the Decade

Accenture ended its sponsorship of Woods on Monday

Tiger Woods has been voted Athlete of the Decade by US sports editors, four days after he announced a break from golf to try to save his marriage.

Woods got 56 of the 142 votes in the Associated Press poll, followed by Lance Armstrong and Roger Federer.

More than half of the ballots were returned after the car crash at Woods's Florida mansion, which led to a series of revelations about his private life.

Woods has apologised for "infidelity" and vowed to be a "better person."

The award is recognition for a sportsman who has single-handedly dominated his sport throughout the decade.

Woods, 33, has won 64 tournaments worldwide since 2000, including 12 majors. His overall tally of 14 leaves him four behind Jack Nicklaus.

The award is likely to be of little comfort to Woods, who has been engulfed in a media storm since the crash on 27 November.

Several of his alleged mistresses have spoken about their relationships with the golfer to newspapers, websites and television outlets.

On Saturday, Woods said he was taking an "indefinite break" from golf to "try to repair the damage done" to his family and asked for privacy.

His wife Elin has been looking after their two children as speculation grows about the future of their marriage.

Woods suffered another blow on Monday when giant management consultancy firm Accenture announced it was ending its sponsorship of the golfer.

Cyclist Armstrong, who won six of his seven Tour De France titles this decade, won 33 votes, eight more than Federer, who landed a record 15th Grand Slam tennis crown at Wimbledon in July.

And on Thursday he was named male player of the year by the Golf Writers Association of America, the 10th time he has won the award in his 13-year professional career.