Brett White’s miraculous journey continues as he medals at Q-School’s first stage

Brett White’s miraculous journey continues.

The 31-year-old White, who nearly died seven years ago after contracting viral encephalitis, co-medaled at first stage of PGA Tour Q-School on Friday in Semmes, Alabama. White opened in 10-under 62 at Magnolia Grove’s Crossing course before cruising to a 24-under total, which equaled Georgia grad Caleb Manuel and was 10 shots inside the cut line.

White advances to one of five second-stage sites, the first of which begins Nov. 19.

White was competing on PGA Tour Latinoamerica in 2017, just a year after turning pro out of Eastern Michigan, when he was hospitalized with the brain infection and a bout of mononucleosis. He had to relearn several motor skills, including walking and talking. However, he was swinging a golf club with support from a gait belt about a month after being discharged and playing tournaments nine months after that.

“It’s been a wild ride,” White said at Q-School’s final stage in 2021. “Over a long journey, sometimes you go back and go, wow, I gotta be thankful for where I’m at. There was a point in the hospital where it was, hey, let’s make sure you can be on your own; and then it was, OK, I want to be able to run around with my kids; then it was, let’s play golf for fun; and it just kept on progressing. I’ve tried to get better every day, and I don’t think I’ve stopped.”

White lost his KFT card after the 2022 season thanks to only two top-25s in 20 starts. The past two seasons he’s competed on PGA Tour Canada and then PGA Tour Americas, though he missed nine of 15 cuts between the two tours. On the flip side, he Monday-qualified for the WM Phoenix Open in 2023 and tied for 13th at the Sanderson Farms Championship, his second career PGA Tour start, last fall.

By medaling at first stage, White earns full PGA Tour Americas status through next year’s Latin swing.

White’s older sister, Sarah, got through LPGA Qualifying on Friday as well, advancing to final qualifying later this year.

Here is a snapshot of the four first-stage sites that wrapped on Friday:

SEMMES, ALABAMA
Magnolia Grove (Crossing)

Medalists: Caleb Manuel and Brett White (-24)

Advancing: Mason Williams, David Perkins, Thomas Ponder, Jake Scott, Ben Carr, Wade Binfield, Julian Perico, A.J. Crouch, Steffen Smith, Brent Hamm, Wesley Hunter, Piercen Hunt, Owen Stamper, Austin Squires, Jacob Bergeron, John Houk, Bennett Baker, Kasper Nyland, Marcelo Garza

Notables not advancing: Alex Price, Michael Miller, Will Thomson, Anthony Maccagilia, Mark Goetz, Tommy Kuhl, Matt Sharpstene, Chase Seiffert, Michael McGowan, a-Bartley Forrester

MURRIETA, CALIFORNIA
Bear Creek GC

Medalists: Danny List, Riley Lewis and Harrison Kingsley (-15)

Advancing: Grant Booth, Corey Shaun, Andi Xu, Henry Chung, Tain Lee, Noah Woolsey, Vijay Srinivasan, Alex Lee, Nicolo Galletti, Sam Sommerhauser, David Kim, Benjamin Shipp, Michael Slesinki, David Longmire, Ryan Gronlund, Devon Bling, Paul Imondi, Jared Sawada, Caleb Shetler, Zach Smith, Chris Gilman, Owen Avrit

Notables not advancing: Greg Solhaug, Ethan Ng, Cameron Sisk, Gunn Yang, RJ Manke, David Boote, Daniel Longmire, Leo Oyo, Joshua McCarthy

HAYVILLE, INDIANA
Champions Pointe GC

Medalists: Charlie Nikitas and Derek Bard (-18)

Advancing: Cooper Musselman, Patrick Sheehan, Drew Doyle, Cougar Collins, Bradley Smithson, Joel Thelen, Zach James, Derek Hitchner, Drew Salyers, Zack Fischer, Kyle Cottam, Palmer Jackson, Jamie Wilson, Hunter Wolcott, Michael Balcar, Drew Shepherd, Luke Gannon, Ashton Van Horne, Dylan Meyer, Billy Tom Sargent

Notables not advancing: Tyler Strafaci, Vince India, Jack Sparrow, Harrison Ott, Evan Katz, Tyler Copp

ABILENE, TEXAS
Abilene CC

Medalists: Nate Stember and Tanner Napier (-16)

Advancing: Garrison Smith, Derek Chang, Melan Dhaubhadel, Chris Korte, David Gazzolo, Jake Holbrooke, Michael Sanders, Brian Dwyer, Timmy Crawford, Brian Stark, Justin de los Santos, Jonathan Kang, Kyle Karazissis, Jose Islas, Trevor Johnson, Jesse Schutte, Christian Jalomo, a-Jeg Coughlin III, Harry Ellis, Callum McNeill, Brad Marek, Logan McCracken

Notables not advancing: Jonathan Brightwell, Rhett Rasmussen, Peter Kuest, Redi Davenport, Xinjun Zhang, Nick Cantlay, Sam Murphy, Jhared Hack