Ft. Worth, TX (Sports Network) - Phil Mickelson made a dramatic closing birdie at the 18th hole on Sunday to win the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial by a shot.

Stuck in a tie with Rod Pampling and Tim Clark, Mickelson so badly sliced his last drive of the final round that he was stuck behind the trees with few options left for hitting the green.  Nearly 150 yards away, Mickelson knocked his approach over the trees and onto the green, where it rolled to nine feet to set up the winning birdie. It was his second win at Colonial and 34th PGA Tour victory overall.

Mickelson shot a two-under 68 in the final round to finish at 14-under 266. He won $1.098 million.  Clark had a four-under 66, while Pampling, who was undone by an unfortunate bogey at the 17th hole, shot a 68 to share second place at 13-under 267.  Stephen Ames ended two shots further back at 11-under 269.

Over the river and thru the woods - Just another day at the course for Lefty

Mickelson trailed Pampling by two shots around the turn after Pampling made a four-foot birdie putt at the ninth hole. Mickelson's two-putt birdie from 35 feet at the 11th brought him within one.  But it took six more holes -- and one big mistake by Pampling -- to let Lefty all the way back in.  Pampling hit into a concrete washout ditch at the 17th hole, took a penalty, plugged his next shot into a bunker and walked off with a bogey that left him in a three-way tie with Clark and Mickelson.  "It was really the only swing I was disappointed in," Pampling said of his drive at 17.

Mickelson's offline drive at the 18th gave Pampling a chance to recover from the mistake. He split the fairway with his last drive, but could only knock his approach shot to 42 feet.  "I thought I was in great position," said Pampling.  But it wasn't good enough.  Mickelson, more than 20 yards farther from the hole and needing to negotiate a line of trees, carved a lob-wedge shot that landed about 10 yards on the green.  When it rolled to nine feet, an already boisterous crowd erupted. And when Mickelson rolled in the winning putt, a spectator jumped into the nearby water.  "At the end of the day, it was an amazing shot from Phil," said Pampling.

Clark, who had made birdies at the 16th and 17th holes to tie for the lead, was staying warm on the putting green -- and he had every reason to be.  Not even Mickelson thought the tournament could be won in regulation.  Walking to his ball at the 18th, Mickelson admitted that he was thinking about making a par to get into a playoff.  "That would be a victory," he thought.

"And I got up there and I didn't really have a chance to go low," said Mickelson. "There were trees everywhere. But ... I thought I could hit a wedge through that gap on the green, and I was hoping for a 25-30 foot putt. That was the goal to have a chance at birdie and make a par at worse.

"And it just came off perfectly. I never saw it. Once it took off, I never saw the flight of the ball because it was hidden from the trees, the overhanging trees in front of me. But I kind of ran out to the fairway and saw it end up [nine] feet. That was a pretty cool feeling."