Jerry Kelly took the umbrella from the parade marshal, donned his tasseled sash and danced his way off the 18th as the brass band played an exuberant Dixieland tune.

After enduring a seven-year winless streak, a determined charge by half-dozen young golfers, and two bogeys that dropped him out of the lead, Kelly's one-stroke victory in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans was plenty of reason to celebrate.

"It's been a long time," said Kelly, who was showered with Mardi Gras beads by fans and presented with a large tray of char-broiled oysters by his favorite New Orleans restaurant. "I sometimes doubted if it was ever going to happen again."

Kelly rallied with two birdies on the back nine to claim the $1.1 million payday yesterday in Avondale, La.

Kelly, 42, offset bogeys on No. 8 and No. 10 with birdies on Nos. 5, 11 and 14 for a 1-under 71 in the final round. He finished with a 274, one stroke ahead of three players.

It was his first PGA Tour title since he won two in 2002 -- exactly 200 starts ago.

Charles Howell III took advantage of Kelly's mid-round stumble with one of his six birdies on 11, which gave him a two-stroke lead. But bogeys at 15 and 17 left him with a 68 on the day, and he tied for second with Rory Sabbatini (67) and Charlie Wi (68).

"It's frustrating," said Howell. "I got up to 15, and had every chance to do it. I just couldn't finish it off."

Kelly, an admitted leader board watcher, said seeing Howell take a two stroke lead on No. 11 did not cause him to doubt himself.

"I knew what the back side had been doing to everybody all week," Kelly said. "And I had actually been playing the back side better."

Steve Marino, playing with Kelly, stayed within one shot until the 18th. Instead of getting the victory or forcing a playoff, he hit his tee shot into a fairway bunker and then needed two putts. He put up his third bogey and finished at 70, tied for fifth at 276. The winning purse moved Kelly from No. 97 to No. 14 on the money list with $1.4 million. It also earns him full exempt status through 2011.

Legends of Golf: Tom Lehman made a par putt on the second playoff hole to become the 13th player to win his Champion Tour debut, teaming with Bernhard Langer to beat Craig Stadler and Jeff Sluman in Savannah, Ga. Each team finished at 27-under 189 in the better-ball event. Lehman and Langer (62) started the final round at 17 under, a stroke ahead of Stadler and Sluman, two strokes off the lead. On a perfect day for scoring, several teams raced up the leader board. There was just one catch: No. 18 yielded only three birdies all day, and that was the playoff hole. On the first playoff hole, Langer's approach hit Stadler's ball on the green and stopped about 45 feet from the pin, and he sank it for birdie. Stadler, who got to replace his ball, promptly followed with a long putt of his own and the teams returned to the 18th tee.

Ballantine's Championship: Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee won the $2.9 million event at Jeju Island, South Korea, after a three-way playoff against Kang Wook-soon and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano. Thongchai closed with a 2-under 70 to finish 4-under 284, along with first-round leader Fernandez-Castano (69) and Kang (68). Ernie Els (71) finished in a four-way tie for fourth place, two shots off the pace at 2 under.

Corona Championship: Mexican star Lorena Ochoa shot a 5-under 68 to hold off Norway's Suzann Pettersen by a stroke in a dramatic final round and win in Morelia, Mexico, for the second year in a row and third time in four years. Ochoa had back-to-back birdies on the 15th and 16th holes to break a tie with Pettersen (68) and finish at 25-under 267.