Zurich Classic of New Orleans was the buddy trip we didn’t know we needed

Shane Lowry, his eyes full of merriment, his shoulders quaking as he laughs, sometimes looks like a kid who’s just filled the faculty sugar bowls with salt. You can’t help but be swept up in it.

Lowry and partner Rory McIlroy, who won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, laughed last at TPC Louisiana.

“Absolutely amazing,” said McIlroy, whose huge drive and deft pitch set up a birdie on 18 to force a playoff with Chad Ramey and Martin Trainer, who looked flat after a nearly three-hour wait and bogeyed the first extra hole to end it.

“I made it look hard at times,” Lowry added, “but no, it was amazing.”

It was also the buddy trip we didn’t know we needed. Maybe it was the presence of first-timer McIlroy and pal Lowry, Ryder Cup teammates and neighbors in South Florida who have been close since playing for Ireland at the 2007 European Amateur Team Championships. Maybe it was the food. Whatever the case, you couldn’t help but smile at how the players let down their guards and turned into kids again.

Joel Dahmen and Keith Mitchell (73, T28) talked about having too much fun to be angered by a bad shot or even several. Zac Blair and Patrick Fishburn (72, T4), who made a killing double-bogey at the par-3 17th hole Sunday, spoke of playing junior golf together back in Ogden, Utah.

Mark Hubbard and Ryan Brehm, who also contended Sunday but could only manage a par at the last for 69 (solo third), said the week amounted to a major for their wives.

“Lots going on, Jazz Fest,” Hubbard said. “We're having a good time.”

They matched outfits, as did McIlroy and Lowry, for what amounted to a sort of working vacation. It was, more than anything else in recent memory, relatable. The winners, who even before coming up clutch Sunday were so watchable as to be a veritable reality show without a time slot, were Exhibit A.

“I've had a wonderful time so far,” McIlroy said after Round 1.

Their microphones were lined up side-by-side after their 11-under 61 – so close that when Lowry asked if they could get any closer, McIlroy put his head on his partner’s shoulder. There were three sets of brothers in this field, two teams comprised of twins, but the eye test, not DNA, told you which teams were closest.

“I've only been here really a couple of days,” McIlroy added. “But we're staying downtown. We've ventured out a couple of times. Yeah, it's a cool city, great food scene.”

Asked what they’d gotten up to the previous evening, he looked at Lowry.

“It was like French, I guess, was it?” McIlroy said.

Lowry: “Yeah. I had a steak.”

McIlroy: “So did I.”

And would they venture into Jazz Fest on Friday night? Again, McIlroy looked at his partner.

McIlroy: “Who's playing tomorrow night, do you know?”

Lowry: “No, I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying out of trouble. We're going for a nice meal.”

McIlroy: “Hopefully we have a late tee time on Saturday, so you never know.”

On Friday, Lowry fell to the turf as if he’d been hit with a tranquilizer dart. His ball had improbably stayed dry at the par-3 17th hole – luck of the Irish – sparing them an almost certain double-bogey. Lowry got up laughing and put his hands on McIlroy’s shoulders as if to steady them both, the fans delighted. They got it around in 70.

They got off to a slow start Saturday, but shot 31 on the back nine for a 64 to pull to within two of Blair and Fishburn. McIlroy and Lowry finished strong Sunday, as well, with two birdies on the last three holes.

True, McIlroy did a lot of the heavy lifting, but when it was over, Lowry hoisted McIlroy off his feet as they squealed with some mixture of happiness and relief. Lowry joked to CBS’s Amanda Balionis that he felt sort of bad taking the 400 FedExCup points, given how much McIlroy had carried him.

“But yeah, they’re mine,” Lowry added, “and they’re not going away.”

He laughed. McIlroy laughed. Soon, in front of a large crowd of revelers, they would take the stage clutching beers and microphones, McIlroy singing along to Journey’s “Don’t stop believin’” as the crowd chanted his name.

The team that had the most fun won. Isn’t that how it should be in the Crescent City?