LAS VEGAS — Golf writer Doug Ferguson won story of the year for the third time in four years in the annual writing contest for AP staffers judged by Associated Press Sports Editors.

Other contest winners included sports columnist Tim Dahlberg, the Will Grimsley Award for outstanding body of work; Pat Graham, feature, for a profile of American hurdler Derrick Williams; Jenna Fryer, enterprise, for a piece on NASCAR's economic woes; and Ben Walker, deadline writing, on the Philadelphia Phillies winning the World Series — the city's first major sports championship in 25 years.

Photo awards went to Itsuo Inouye, a double winner for feature and portfolio, and Anja Niedringhaus.

Ferguson's tale of Tiger Woods' epic U.S. Open victory on the 19th hole of a playoff, where he outlasted a gritty Rocco Mediate, resonated with the judges. Out of competition for two months because of knee surgery, Woods won the toughest test in golf, a victory few golf fans will ever forget.

Dahlberg's portfolio included Tiger's growing legend after his U.S. Open win, the death of Kentucky Derby filly Eight Belles, a reminder that racing is still a very brutal business, and a return to New Orleans on the eve of the BCS title game; plus profiles of the fastest men of the Olympics — Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt — and a disgraced Michael Vick.

"Dahlberg's work was exemplary on a variety of subjects and was of high quality, no matter the deadline constraints," said Lynn Hoppes, associate managing editor/sports for the Orlando Sentinel.

Besides Hoppes, judges included David Squires, urban affairs columnist for the Daily Press of Newport News, Va., and Tim Wheatley, assistant managing editor/sports for The Baltimore Sun.

Judging took place at APSE's annual winter meeting in Las Vegas.

Winners will be honored at the organization's June convention in Pittsburgh.

Graham's piece introduced readers to Williams, a 26-year-old hurdler aiming for the Beijing Olympics. Taken from his mother and placed in foster care when he was just 11, Williams shared how he found escape in running.

"Pat Graham's story on Derrick Williams was moving beyond words," Hoppes said. "It didn't just tell you about his relationship with his family. It actually showed you. His writing was conversational and showed depth at the same time. It was excellent."

Walker's deadline work on the Phillies' Game 5 win to take the World Series showcased one of the wackiest endings in baseball history, a 50-hour marathon that ended with a three-inning sprint.

Fryer's award was for a piece on how the global economic crisis was affecting NASCAR, forcing teams to lay off workers, merge or reduce their size as sponsorship money, which once flowed freely, began to dry up.

Inouye won the AP's Thomas V. diLustro award for best portfolio, consisting of a picture story from the annual "Yabusame," a horseback archery festival, in Zushi, Japan; shots of swimming, athletics, field hockey from the Beijing Olympics, plus individual images of rugby and tennis.

Inouye also won best feature for a shot of Yutaka Niida of Japan flipping head over heels to celebrate winning the WBA minimum weight title bout against challenger Jose Luis Varela.

Niedringhaus, based in Geneva, won best action photo for a shot of Jamaica's Usain Bolt pounding his chest as he crossed the finish line of the men's 100 meters at the Beijing Olympics, setting his first world record of the games.