SAUCIER, Miss. -- It was happening to Aaron Hicks. Again.

For the third time in five months, he was about to let a tournament on The PRO Tour get away.

Last December, he lost in a playoff to Tyler Clippard in Orlando. In February, poor putting down the stretch cost him a chance for victory in Palm Springs, with Clippard prevailing once more, this time in a playoff with Joe Pavleski.

On Thursday at Fallen Oak, Hicks, 36, missed a seven-footer for eagle on No. 13 and three-putted on No. 16 -- from 12 feet! -- for a bogey. That put him four points behind Garrett Graham, the ex-tight end, who was done for the day.

Which brings us to the 17th green.

Hicks, needing a par to cut Graham's lead to two point -- the Tour uses a modified Stableford format -- knocked his uphill 25-foot birdie putt about six feet by.

One more miss puts Hicks three back and in need of a birdie (four points) at the final hole. Easier said than done with 18 being one of the toughest holes at Fallen Oak.

He didn't miss.

Nor, after a wonderful shot from the greenside bunker, did Hicks miss a putt of similar length for par on 18. And, after another par at 18 in the first hole of the playoff, the trophy was his. At last.

"I knew how big it was," he said afterwards, referring to the par effort on 17.

As was the six-footer on 18.

"My heart was pounding," said Hicks, the ex-major league baseball player who finished his three rounds with 119 points. "Being able to get the win is awesome."

For a while, it appeared that Tony Romo, the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback, would get the win.

Romo, playing in the final group, made three birdies in a row on Nos. 10, 11, (thanks to a 40-footer) and 12. The streak looked like it would continue on 13 as he lined up a putt for eagle from about 12 feet.

But he missed the putt -- then missed the comebacker, lipping out from seven feet. So instead of six points or, at the very least, four, he walked off the green with only two. Opportunity missed.

"I think I was a little too much line-locked on that one," Romo said. "I felt like that would have won the tournament right there. I didn't putt quite well enough to win. I know what to work on."

Still, the week was not a total loss.

"I wanted to close it out and I'm disappointed," added Romo, who tied Clippard for third with 112 points, but "at the same time, I think we're going to be just fine going forward."

Clippard, the former relief pitcher -- he spent 16 years in the big leagues with 10 teams -- lost ground when he was unable to birdie either 13 or 15, the two par-5s on the back nine.

"I just didn't have it today," he said. "I didn't drive the ball great and the irons were a little off."

The next stop for The PRO Tour will be the very challenging PGA National in West Palm Beach, Fla., in three weeks.

Clippard will be ready.

"Hopefully, we can pluck a few more of these," he said.

No doubt Hicks, after breaking through, feels the same.