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DOMINANCE At Its Finest

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By MIKE GARBETT, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 22, 2007

Four athletes. Four world-class performers. Four champions who have taken their games to levels rarely seen.

But who was 2007's most dominant performer?

Was it Tiger Woods, who finished the PGA Tour season ranked No. 1 in the world for the ninth time in 10 years?

What about Woods' counterpart on the LPGA Tour, Lorena Ochoa, whose earnings this season would have been seventh on the men's Tour.

A strong case can be made for tennis player Roger Federer, who finished 2007 ranked No. 1 for the fourth straight year.

And don't overlook Jimmie Johnson, who was unstoppable down the stretch in winning another Nextel Cup title.

Indeed, a compelling argument can be made for each of the four.

We'll let you decide the winner.

TIGER WOODS

•Wins: 7 (Buick Invitational, WGC-CA Championship, Wachovia Championship, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, PGA Championship, BMW Championship, Tour Championship

•Earnings: $10,867,052

•Year In Review: He won his 13th career major championship (five shy of Jack Nicklaus' all-time record) and finished tied for second at the Masters and U.S. Open. ... He finished first or second in 10 of his 16 PGA Tour starts. ... He won the inaugural FedEx Cup title despite skipping the first of four playoff events. ... He became a father for the first time.
LORENA OCHOA
•Wins: 8 (Safeway International, Sybase Classic, Wegmans LPGA, Ricoh Women's British Open, CN Canadian Women's Open, Safeway Classic, Samsung World Championship, ADT Championship)

•Earnings: $4,364,994

•Year In Review: In April, she overtook Annika Sorenstam to become No. 1 in the world. ... She broke through to win her first major championship at the birthplace of golf, the Old Course at St. Andrews, with a wire-to-wire victory. ... She became the first women's golfer to top $4 million in earnings in a season, surpassing Sorenstam's mark ($2,863,904).
ROGER FEDERER
Wins: 8 (Australian Open, Dubai, Masters Series Hamburg, Wimbledon, Masters Series Cincinnati, U.S. Open, Swiss Indoors, Masters Cup)

Earnings: $10,130,620

Year In Review: He won three Grand Slam singles titles for the third time in four years. ... He won Wimbledon for the fifth straight year, the U.S. Open for the fourth straight year and the Australian Open for the third time. ... He lost in the French Open final for the second straight year. ... His 12 career majors are two shy of Pete Sampras' all-time record.

JIMMIE JOHNSON

Wins: 10 (UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400, Kobalt Tools 500, Goody's Cool Orange 500, The Jim Stewart 400, Sharp Aquos 500, Chevy Rock & Roll 400, Subway 500, Pep Boys Auto 500, Dickies 500, Checker Auto Parts 500).

Earnings: $7,646,420

Year In Review: He won four straight races during the Chase for the Championship in capturing back-to-back Nextel Cup titles. ... He overcame a 68-point deficit to teammate Jeff Gordon midway through the 10-race Chase by putting together NASCAR's first four-race winning streak since 1998. ... He had eight top-10 finishes during the Chase.

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