The Zurich Classic was over. The two-man team of Cameron Smith and Jonas Blixt was up one stroke on Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown with only the par-5 18th to play.

Despite making birdie on 10 of their first 11 holes, Brown and Kisner had sagged down the stretch of the team best ball final round in New Orleans. It was an arduous final 18 holes that started at 6:30 a.m. local time and had lasted until dusk because of a lengthy weather delay. Brown and Kisner managed only six consecutive pars coming home after their scorching start. 

An easy birdie by Smith at the par-3 17th had all but sunk them as Blixt and Smith moved to 26 under and Brown and Kisner remained at 25 under. Only one pairing had made eagle at the final hole all day, so it seemed the best Kisner and Brown could hope for was for Blixt and Smith to make par and to birdie the hole themselves.

That didn't happen.

After all four players hit good drives and second shots varying distances shy of the green, Smith's third shot was improbably good. From an uneven lie, Smith chipped to 4 feet away for a kick-in birdie and, likely, his first PGA Tour victory alongside Blixt.

"I kind of knew that we at least had to get up-and-down to win," Smith said. "So I just went ahead and picked my spot on the green and landed perfect and went up there. That's all we could really do."

Brown and Kisner both had closer chips, but they both knew they would have to make them for eagle to even have a chance at a playoff.

"I just said we probably need 3 to have a chance," Kisner said about their strategy on the 585-yard par-5. "I knew we couldn't probably get [to the green in two]. I hit a great one and he hit a good one, and we had a perfect angle on that shot. It was dark. I knew if we just got it up there and had a chance, you never know what could happen."

Brown skipped his up to within 5 feet and a good look at birdie, which was impressive but seemed like it would be too little, too late at the first PGA Tour team event in 36 years. Kisner then sidled up next to his from 95 feet away with basically only the scoreboard providing enough light for anyone to see anything. 

He had one thought: Don't leave it short.

Kisner punched one onto the green that looked like it was going to scoot by the hole before it impossibly hit the center of the pin and dropped for a 3. Yes, Kevin Kisner made an eagle on the 72nd hole to get to 27 under after his team looked dead in the water two minutes earlier.

"I knew I was going to make it the whole time," Kisner said. "No, I'm just kidding. I just told myself, get it there. All I was trying to do was make sure I didn't leave it short, and I couldn't see much. 

"I knew it was breaking a little right, and when it hit the flag, I said, 'Don't you come out of there.' I thought I had a chance, and we had birdie, we knew they were going to make birdie. It's just one of those shots that you dream about. I knew I hit it a little too hard when I touched it, but I loved the line, and when it hit the flag, I said, 'just please don't come out of there.' "

The chip-in was Kisner's third (!) of the day.

"I walked by him and told him just knock it right in," Brown said. "He's been doing it all day. He already chipped in twice today, so I told him one more time wouldn't hurt. And then he did it."

Now the pressure was back on Smith to make the birdie for a tie and a playoff. He did, and now we will have a Monday morning playoff that will start on the same 18th hole and go 18-18-9-18 to find a sudden death winner.

Smith was unfazed by the Kisner shot after their round.

"It was a good shot," Smith said. "Yeah, it went in."

The eagle capped an insane 60 on Sunday from Kisner and Brown to Blixt and Smith's 64 (including a second nine of 30). Those two pairings finished four clear of the third-place finishers.

Kisner and Brown are both looking for their second PGA Tour victories, while Smith is looking for No. 1 and Blixt No. 3. The playoff will air on Golf Channel at 9 a.m. ET.

Neither pairing sounds concerned about getting ready for Monday.

"Same thing we always do, got to get something to eat, laugh, and go to bed," Kisner said of their preparation for Monday.

"Make sure the outfit is on point," Blixt added.

We know the golf will be.