FORT WORTH, Texas — Steve Stricker blew a final-round lead right after he took it and gave away another stroke by missing a short par putt down the stretch.

Stricker stayed at it, though. A chip-in birdie on 17 helped him get in a three-man playoff. Then, lucky to be playing a second extra hole, he put his approach just 3 feet from the cup and knocked it right in to win the Crowne Plaza Invitational.

Admirable as it may be, the real story yesterday was how Tim Clark blew this tournament.

Trying to shed his title as the guy who'd won the most money on the PGA Tour without winning an event, Clark wasted a two-shot lead with five holes left. He left short a 9-foot putt that would've won it on the final hole, then pulled a 7-footer that would've ended the playoff on the first hole. The final kick in the gut came when his approach on the second extra hole hit the pin and rolled more than 20 feet from the cup.

"I can't take anything positive from today," the 33-year-old South African said. "I have a lot of work to do when it comes to closing out golf tournaments."

Stricker's win was pure relief, as evidence by his fist pump and choked-up interviews afterward. It's not that he questioned his ability to close out tournaments, he was just ready to win after finishing second, third, fourth, sixth and seventh this year.

Now he has five career wins — and the No. 8 spot in the world ranking.

"I feel fortunate," Stricker said. "I've been on the other end a couple times this year where you feel you're going to win and end up losing. This feels very good."

Stricker, who earned $1,116,000, led after two rounds with a 36-hole tournament record of 126. He moved back ahead with birdies on Nos. 5 and 6 yesterday, but followed with consecutive bogeys.

When he missed a 4-footer on No. 16, Stricker seemed out of contention. His chances looked even worse when he was in fluffy grass behind the 17th green.

Then his chip rolled in.

"You need breaks to win, that's why winning is so special, so hard to do," Stricker said.

Steve Marino was the third player in the playoff. He narrowly missed a long birdie putt on the first extra hole, then pretty much took himself out of contention with a wild tee shot on the second extra hole. Colonial would've been a sweet place for his debut win considering his mom grew up a few blocks away and was in the gallery with a group of her childhood friends.

"Obviously it's disappointing," Marino said. "But I'm playing well right now and I'm excited about playing golf and feel good about my game."

Stricker and Marino shot 68s to match Clark (70) at 17-under 263.

CHAMPIONS TOUR

Principal Charity Classic: Mark McNulty won the Principal Charity Classic for his seventh Champions Tour victory, beating Fred Funk with a 30-foot birdie putt on the fourth hole of a playoff. McNulty closed with a 5-under 66 to match Funk (66) and second-round leader Nick Price (68) at 10-under 203 on the Glen Oaks Country Club course in West Des Moines, Iowa. McNulty and Funk birdied the second extra hole to eliminate Price.

EUROPEAN TOUR

European Open: France's Christian Cevaer won the European Open for his second career European tour win, closing with a 2-over 74 for a one-stroke victory. Cevaer had a 7-under 281 total on The London Golf Club course in Ash, England. Scotland's Gary Orr (71), England's Steve Webster (71) and Spain's Alvaro Quiros (72) tied for second.

NATIONWIDE TOUR

Rex Hospital Open: Kevin Johnson birdied the first hole of a playoff with Jeff Gallagher to win the Nationwide Tour's Rex Hospital Open. Johnson, a five-time winner on the Nationwide Tour, finished with a 5-under 67 to match Gallagher (64) at 18-under 277 at TPC Wakefield Plantation in Raleigh, N.C.