Morgan wins after closing 66

Gil Morgan steadied his nerves today and shot a 6-under-par 66 and to cap off a tournament record 17-under 199 that gave him a four-stroke victory over Bob Murphy and Bruce Fleisher in the Senior PGA Instinet Open.

Morgan admitted to some anxious moments during a round in which he led for the final 13 holes.

``I think that's a good feeling. It means you're in contention and you've got a chance to win,'' he said. ``But if it gets to the point where you get so nervous you can't handle the situation, that's obviously not a good situation.''

Morgan broke Chi Chi Rodriguez's 1987 mark of 14-under 202 and his margin of victory was the second largest in the 16-year history of the event, played for the first time at 2-year-old Jasna Polana. It also was the first time in three years the tournament didn't go to a playoff.

Fleisher shot a 66 Sunday and Murphy shot a 70 to tie for second at 13 under. Defending champion Tom Jenkins, who led after the first round and was tied for the lead entering the final round, was another stroke back at a 71.

``I didn't quite play well enough to get the job done and Gil was right there,'' said Murphy, who had his best tournament in 10 outings since undergoing surgery on his right knee in early March. ``I kept telling myself I had to start challenging the pin and make some birdies, but I didn't have enough.''

In winning the $210,000 first prize Morgan earned his second title this year and his 17th on the Senior PGA Tour. He won the Emerald Coast Classic in March.

``It was nice to win; it seemed like it was a long tough day,'' Morgan said. ``I made a few mistakes but at the same time I was able to cover them up to salvage the day.''

Morgan, Jenkins and Murphy began the day at 11 under and were even at 12 under after five holes. Morgan birdied No. 6 to take the lead for good, and added birdies at 7 and 8 to open a three-stroke lead.

Murphy birdied No. 9 to get within two strokes and it remained that way until Morgan birdied 15 to go three ahead of Murphy and Fleisher.

Morgan, a licensed doctor of optometry, finished with his eighth birdie of the day on the par-5 18th, giving him 10 birdies on the par-5s in the tournament. Morgan entered the day leading the tour with birdies on 46.7 percent of the par-5s he played, and birdied all four in the final round.

``Overall, I felt I drove it pretty well,'' Morgan said. ``I hit it pretty solid.''

Arnold Palmer completed his 1,000th official PGA Tour/Senior PGA Tour event with a 73, finishing 4 over for the tournament.

John Mahaffey tied the course record with a 65 Sunday and finished at 210.

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