New Orleans ? On the verge of a collapse, Chris Couch tried to stay positive as he stood over a 55-foot chip for par on the 18th hole that he had to get up-and-down simply to get into a playoff at the Zurich Classic.

“I was thinking this would be a great way to win a tournament,” he said. “It would be something I’d remember always.”

Using a rare, cross-handed grip for chipping, Couch watched his lofted pitch land in the right spot and track toward the hole until it disappeared into the cup, a victory so stunning that he thrust his arms in the air and slammed his pitching wedge into the ground in relief.

No way will he ever forget this week in the Big Easy.

It started a week ago Sunday on Bourbon Street when he got lost in the wrong part of town, climbed into a car with the wrong kind of people and wound up running down the streets of New Orleans until he could call police and get safely back to his car.

His heart was pumping just as fast over the final two holes, when he twice nearly threw away his first PGA Tour victory.

After sending his shot from a mud-caked bunker over the green on the par-3 17th, Couch had to make a 12-foot putt to save bogey.

Then came the final act, another bunker shot that didn’t reach the green, and a chip-in for par that gave him a 7-under 65 and a one-shot victory over Charles Howell III and Fred Funk.

Has any winner of this event ever had a week like Couch?

“I doubt it,” he said, Mardi Gras beads draped around his neck. “It’s been an adventure. But it couldn’t have worked out any better.”

Couch finished at 19-under 269 and earned $1.08 million in the first nationally televised sporting event in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina.

Howell, winless since his only PGA Tour victory four years ago, also thought fate was on his side, but he saw the definition of destiny over the final two holes as Couch twice came through with an incredible escape.

“The finish was unbelievable,” Howell said after a 65. “Moreso than him holing for par on the last was the bogey made on 17 from the skulled bunker shot. But it’s those things that it takes to win. Chris played great. I hope those two holes there don’t take away from how well he played.”

Funk, 49, finished with a 30-foot birdie putt for a 62.