In contention through his first four starts of the season in Latin America – T4 in Brazil, T9 in Ecuador, T3 in Peru and T7 in Mexico – Brett White went quiet for a few weeks before storming back to the top of a PGA TOUR Americas leaderboard with an amazing final-round, 13-under 59 Sunday at the Commissionaires Ottawa Open presented by Lépine Apartments. Starting the day seven shots back in a tie for 30th, he made 11 birdies and holed a 63-footer for eagle at the last to give himself a chance. He ended up making it into a three-way playoff, which he won with two more birdies.

“It was a crazy day of golf,” said the 32-year-old from Grand Rapids, Michigan, after closing out the tournament in front of his wife, Natalie, and their newborn daughter, Nellie. “I needed all of that 59, and then I went birdie-birdie in the playoff to seal it up. It was a pretty good 20 holes of golf for me.”

The victory, his first in a PGA TOUR-sanctioned event, vaulted him into third place on the Fortinet Cup points list. With his point total improving to 916 for the season, he is now only 191 points behind leader Davis Lamb. A return to the Korn Ferry Tour, where he spent a full season in 2022, is now within his grasp.

“The goal at the beginning of the season was to make the top 10. Now, with a win, maybe I can readjust that goal and try to win the Fortinet Cup,” said the nine-year pro. “It’s all about getting back out on the Korn Ferry Tour.”

An Eastern Michigan University alum, White has had an interesting journey since turning professional in 2016. His toughest test came in 2017, when he spent three weeks in a hospital with viral encephalitis. He went home in a wheelchair and had to undergo 10 weeks of physical therapy to learn how to walk again. It took him a full year to return to golf, but he came back strong, winning the 2019 Nevada Open, the 2020 Michigan Open, and even earning a Korn Ferry Tour card for the 2022 season.

“If you had asked me back in 2017, when I got sick, I would have had no idea what the future looked like — but I knew I wanted to play golf,” said White. “I was lucky. Very lucky and fortunate, whether it was God, good healthcare, or whatever it was that got me through it. It’s been a long journey, but it’s one I wouldn’t change now. It’s made me the man I am today.”

Top 10 in Fortinet Cup Standings

1. Davis Lamb, United States
Fortinet Cup points: 1,107 (eight starts)
Last week’s rank: First
Best finishes: Won the Inter Rapidísimo Golf Championship (Week 6); runner-up in Bromont (Week 8)
A strong run of eight consecutive top-30 finishes that included a victory and three other top 10s came to an end in Ottawa. An unusual 77 in the opening round led to his first missed cut of the season. His lead atop the point list shrank from 49 to just eight points.

2. David Perkins, United States
Fortinet Cup points: 1,099 (nine starts)
Last week’s rank: Second
Best finishes: Won the Explore NB Open (Week 7); runner-up in Peru (Week 4)
Hovering outside the top 100 after a double bogey and four bogeys over his first 26 holes in Ottawa, he made only one bogey the rest of the way and finished in a tie for 20th. The 40 points he picked up closed the gap to just eight behind Davis Lamb.

3. Brett White, United States
Fortinet Cup points: 916 (eight starts)
Last week’s rank: 14th
Best finishes: Won the Commissionaires Ottawa Open (Week 9), T3 in Peru (Week 4)
He fired a spectacular 13-under 59 Sunday to come from behind and win the Commissionaires Ottawa Open in a playoff. The win was his fifth top-10 of the season and propelled him into third in the standings.

4. John Marshall Butler, United States
Fortinet Cup points: 740 (nine starts)
Last week’s rank: Third
Best finish: Won the Bupa Championship (Week 5)
Followed an opening 72 with a 67 to miss the cut by one shot in Ottawa. He has now missed the cut in two of his last three starts.

5. Michael Brennan, United States
Fortinet Cup points: 736 (nine starts)
Last week’s rank: Fourth
Best finishes: T3 in Argentina (Week 1); T3 in Mexico (Week 5); T4 in Brazil (Week 2)
His sixth top 10 of the season came as an unlikely one on Sunday. Entering the final round of the Commissionaires Ottawa Open tied for 39th, he caught fire shooting 7-under in a six-hole stretch en route to a 9-under 63 and a tie for eighth.

6. Dillon Stewart, United States
Fortinet Cup points: 668 (three starts)
Last week’s rank: Ninth
Best finishes: Won the Bromont Open (Week 8); T5 in Ottawa (Week 9)
Coming off a win in Bromont, he had a bogey-free weekend in Ottawa to tie for fifth and record his third top 10 in as many starts as a pro. His impressive scoring average of 66.25 is currently the best on Tour.

7. Jay Card III, United States
Fortinet Cup points: 659 (nine starts)
Last week’s rank: Sixth
Best finish: Won the Kia Open (Week 3)
Tied for sixth through 54 holes in Ottawa, he let a good opportunity slip away with a final-round 72 to finish tied for 26th.

8. Hunter Wolcott, United States
Fortinet Cup points: 645 (seven starts)
Last week’s rank: Fourth
Best finish: Won the Diners Club Peru Open (Week 4)
With rounds of 71-75, the Commissionaires Ottawa Open marked his first missed cut since the Kia Open in Ecuador. He had finished T34 or better in his four starts in between, including his victory in Peru.

9. Ryan Grider, United States
Fortinet Cup points: 628 (nine starts)
Last week’s rank: Seventh
Best finish: Won the Abierto Telecom del Centro (Week 1)
In a week that demanded crazy-low scores, his best round was a 68. He had to settle for a T67 finish and dropped a couple of spots in the season-long standings.

10. Maxwell Moldovan, United States
Fortinet Cup points: 627 (nine starts)
Last week’s rank: Eighth
Best finish: Won the ECP Brazil Open (Week 2)
Well outside the cut line at even-par through 24 holes, he carded two eagles and five birdies over his next 10 holes to shoot a second-round 64 and make it into the weekend. He ended up tying for 26th to defend his spot inside the top 10.

Best move outside the top 10:

28. Danny Fisher, United States
Fortinet Cup Points: 265 (three starts)
Last week’s rank: T159
Best finish: T2 at the Commissionaires Ottawa Open (playoff loss)
He put together an impressive week at Eagle Creek Golf Club, making only one bogey. He finished birdie-birdie-birdie to shoot a 9-under 63 on Sunday and earn a spot in a playoff for the title. Coming off a final-round 59, Brett White outlasted him on the second playoff hole.

Next stop:
The race for the Fortinet Cup continues this week (July 31-Aug. 3) with the Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos – CBM Aggregates at TPC Toronto (Heathlands Course) in Caledon, Ontario.