Can you hook up a 60hz laptop to a 144hz monitor

No, you wouldn't need to close the lid. What I mean is that by default most laptops will clone or mirror the image to both displays and choose a common mode that both can render. But just like having two monitors on a desktop you can choose to extend the desktop, mirror, or select only one display. You can do this with the Windows display dialogues or use the function keys. I forget which one but it's Fn + F ? key. It's the function key with two squares. The function key cycles through different displays and combinations.