Joel Dahmen, Keith Mitchell prioritize fun over winning Zurich Classic of New Orleans

Friday at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans features the Alternate Shot format as players take turns hitting one ball.

Joel Dahmen and Keith Mitchell played well and continued to be the life of the party. They fired off a 2-under 70 to sit at 11-under for the tournament.

“We made putts. We’re not known for making putts. We’re known for ball-whacking, but we made some nice putts out there and scrambled pretty well,” Dahmen said. “Leaned on him; he leaned on me.”

The wind was up at TPC Louisiana, making Alternate-Shot much more difficult that conditions Thursday.

Once they reached their back nine, they made a birdie on four but bogeyed No. 5. The duo then made back-to-back birdies on seven and eight to pick up some momentum that was quickly derailed.

Mitchell missed a par-putt on nine to end the round on a sour note. However, that mishap will not deter this group.

“Seriously, Joel putted great today,” Mitchell said. “You never want to say you could have done more when you shoot 2-under in alternate shot, especially on a day like today. Joel had a great chip shot. We’ve played great, honestly. It’s been fun, and that’s kind of our goal this week.”

From Dahmen’s “visor bucket hat” to their overall personalities, fun is what they do well together.

“I have to give a lot of credit to our caddies. Everyone knows Geno, but our boy Dillon is a good vibe guy this week,” Dahmen said. “He’s hilarious. He has no idea what he’s doing, which is even better. The four of us have a good time. We can’t get mad at each other.”

They both acknowledged some poor shots, but how they reacted to them mattered the most for the good vibe crew.

“It’s the least amount of reaction I’ve probably ever had about a golf shot,” Mitchell said. “If we can continue that, having fun, because we’re still trying to win a golf tournament,” Mitchell said. “Sometimes that can get in the way of having fun. We’re going to let the fun get in the way of winning a tournament.”

Saturday’s round returns to the Four-Ball format, where players play their balls but take the best score from each hole.

After completing both formats, Dahmen and Mitchell know what they have to improve upn during Moving Day.

“I leaned on Joel a couple of times yesterday when it was unnecessary. He carried the weight,” Mitchell said. “Trying to play our games tomorrow, maybe with a touch more aggression if needed, but with the wind picking up tomorrow, I think the scores are going to be a little higher, and a couple more pars might be okay.”

They will have to wait for the afternoon wave to finish, but for now, the duo is inside the Top 10 and in contention to take home the Zurich Classic of New Orleans title.

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, be sure to follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.