PRINCETON, N.J. — Gil Morgan's agenda for the final round worked to perfection.
Morgan shot a 3-under-par 69 on Sunday and survived challenges by J.C. Snead and Tom Jenkins to win his second consecutive Instinet Classic by two strokes.
"My game plan was to not make any bogeys," Morgan said. "I thought if I could do that, I could probably make three or four birdies. If I could do that, someone would have to come a long way, especially if they weren't one of those first guys behind me. But J.C. got close to doing that."
Snead climbed into contention with a charge that included birdies on four of the last eight holes. He finished the final round with seven birdies. A birdie putt on No. 15 slid just past the hole, and a 35-foot birdie putt on No. 18 stopped inches short of the cup.
"In the back of your mind, you think you have an outside shot if you play very well," Snead said. "I just went out and played as hard as I could. I play one hole at a time and add it up. You can't do anything about what the other guy is doing."
Morgan finished with three-round total of 15-under 201 at the TPC at Jasna Polana in Princeton for his second victory of the year. He won the ACE Group Classic in February.
"You don't get to defend too often," Morgan said. "And most of the time when you come back, you don't do that. So to be able to put all that together on Father's Day was really kind of a treat for me."
Morgan followed his course-record 63 on Friday with a 69 on Saturday for a tournament record 36-hole total of 132. He entered the final round with a 3-stroke lead over four golfers, including Jenkins.
"The first couple days, this golf course played a little like what I anticipated from playing last year," Morgan said. "But because of the rain, it changed a lot, but I still feel like it's a good golf course for me. It suits my game somewhat because I can reach those par 5s in two shots, and that's important."
Snead shot a 65, and Jenkins had 67 in the final round. Each finished at 13-under 203.
After a four-hour rain delay at start the final round, Morgan birdied Nos. 6 and 12. Morgan fell into a tie with Snead after a bogey on No. 15 but regained the lead with a birdie on the 16th hole and closed out the victory with another birdie on No. 18.