FORT WORTH, Texas -- He finished it off with a quick fist-pump and a lumbering half spin.

Followed that by throwing his hands up and tugging on either side of his visor. Perhaps to make sure his head was still in place.

Lordy did Tim Herron make this one tough on himself. Lumpy hit a tree, sent another tee shot through some branches and even came up short with an L-wedge in his hand. He got conservative. Plugged along.

Then Lumpy got tough, made the prettiest little 10 footer he'd seen in a long time and slipped on that traditional red plaid jacket for the winner here at Colonial Country Club.

Lumpy, 2006 Bank of America Colonial champ. Has quite a ring to it. Especially after seven years of wondering if he'd ever win again, let alone live up to all those expectations his peers kept slipping into conversations.

A relief? "Big time," he said with that ear-to-ear grin. "I wanted to go out there and win this one."

And he did. Forget that it took him two extra holes in the blazing hot Texas sun to beat Richard S. Johnson. Forget that he could have put it away in regulation if he hadn't gone all conservative. Or if that putt had just fallen on the 16th hole.

This one was for all those moments these last seven years when he wondered -- if he was good enough, if he should move back to Minnesota, if he should head back home and help his wife with their three sons. If that 1999 win at the Bay Hill Invitational was it.

"Weird things," he said, "go through your mind."

Lumpy. Disheveled. Self-effacing. Dry wit. Comfortable in his own skin. So comfortable, in fact, he swears he's going to have Colonial plaid slacks made to match the jacket for next year's champions dinner. And, no, it's not the Herron kilt plaid.

Turns out he went looking the last time he was in Scotland and found out Herron was Irish and Welsh. "They didn't even have it," he said. "That's the last time I looked for plaid."

Sunday, there was red plaid. Plenty of it. And a check for $1,080,000 was more than the sum total of his checks from his first three wins.

"See, seven years," Herron said.

The key here? His hands. His putter. And a tip from buddy Mark McCann at last week's EDS Byron Nelson Championship.

Last year, he was one of the best putters on the PGA TOUR. But after taking off more than a month to move to Minnesota and help his wife recover from the birth of their twin boys, he came out rusty. And struggling with what's usually a strength of his game.

"I was toeing everything," he said, "so (McCann) told me to address it on the heel."

It worked. "I putted lights out when I won Honda (the 1996 Honda Classic)," he said. "But today was a great day of putting."

Herron made putts from everywhere. But most importantly, he made the 2-footer on the final hole of regulation to force a playoff.

He had been up by two shots walking to the 16th tee, but he hit into the bunker and two-putted for bogey. Then he let tee shots get away from him at the 17th and 18th. Both times you could see him leaning quizzically.

"I lean on every shot," he laughed. "No one knows where it's going. But I guess I made it more fun."

About the same time, Johnson was sinking a bomb of a birdie at 17 to cut Herron's lead to one shot. Then, Johnson birdied 18 to tie to set up Lumpy's closing par. In the playoff, Johnson blinked first, two-putting from 25 feet at the second playoff hole. Lumpy rolled in his winning birdie putt.

"In golf," he said, "it's how you deal with the bad."

Which is, in part, why Lumpy always seems to smile through it all.

Herron's dad was a character. He picked on the kids all the time. "You got used to the fact he'd embarrass the kids," Herron said. "You learned to roll with the punches."

Which is why he can laugh at the thought of himself wearing all-plaid next May.

And why he can admit that yes, there were times in the last seven years -- a marriage, three sons, a bout with Lyme Disease and his share of chances -- when he wondered if he was ever going to win again.

"The winning part is the struggle," he said. "You have to do it your way. What I learned out here is everyone is good at certain things. Some guys are better with a mental attitude, some guys are better putters or drivers. But you have to remember as a player, what you do well.

"What I do well? I really don't know."

Yes, he does. He's good at being comfortable being himself.

A four-time winner. A guy who's confident enough to wear that plaid. At least once a year.