Edwardsville’s Brian Cooper follows through on his chip shot during the Dick Gerber Invitational on Aug. 28, 2026, at Belk Park Golf Course in Wood River.
Matt Kamp/The Intelligencer
Edwardsville’s Bennett Briggs competes at the Madison County Tournament on Aug. 20, 2026, at Belk Park Golf Course in Wood River.
Matt Kamp/The Intelligencer
Edwardsville’s Michael Shaw lines up a putt during the Dick Gerber Invitational on Aug. 28, 2026, at Belk Park Golf Course in Wood River.
Matt Kamp/The Intelligencer
Edwardsville’s Luke Maxim watches the flight of his shot during the Dick Gerber Invitational on Aug. 28, 2026, at Belk Park Golf Course in Wood River.
Matt Kamp/The Intelligencer
Edwardsville’s Drew Capron competes at the Madison County Tournament on Aug. 20, 2026, at Belk Park Golf Course in Wood River.
Matt Kamp/The Intelligencer
Before the start of the 2026 boys golf season, Edwardsville coach Adam Tyler predicted that his team could catch some people by surprise.
What he didn’t anticipate was how low the Tigers would go.
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Through their first six rounds, including five tournaments, the Tigers have posted three under-par, count-four team scores, won two tournament titles and broken a program scoring record.
Edwardsville has won the Madison County Tournament and the two-round Dick Gerber Invitational. The county championship was the team’s 13th in the last 15 county tournaments, while the Dick Gerber Invitational championship was its first since 2019.
The Tigers also finished second at the Alton Tee-Off Classic and Quincy Invitational. Edwardsville’s count-five score of 370 at Quincy was one of its lowest scores in tournament history. The Tigers shot 372 to win the event in 2007 and finished fourth with a 391 last season.
Edwardsville returned three golfers who competed in last year’s postseason after the Tigers finished second at the regional but didn’t advance out of the sectional. Those three included Intelligencer MVP Brian Cooper, Bennett Briggs and Drew Capron.
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“We have a lot of kids who have shown a lot of growth in the last year. We have a lot of kids who have really taken that next step, and it’s exciting to see,” Tyler said. “I think we have the ability to surprise some people this year.”
The Tigers have done exactly that, though their performance may even be exceeding Tyler’s expectations.
Three of Edwardsville’s six rounds have been under par, including a 7-under 281 at the Madison County Tournament at Belk Park that broke the program record.
EHS also shot a 2-under 286 in the first round of the Dick Gerber Invitational at Belk Park before firing a 3-under 281 in the second round at Legacy Golf Course. The combined 567 was the lowest score by a champion in the tournament’s current format.
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The 2-under 286 in the first round of the Dick Gerber Invitational came from the blue tees while playing the ball down, compared to the 7-under 281 at the Madison County Tournament from the white tees while playing the ball up. The blue tees add more than 500 yards to the round.
Before this season, the program’s last round in the 280s came in 2017 when the Tigers shot a 2-under 286 at Meadowview Golf Course at the Mattoon Invitational. Two seasons earlier, they posted an even-par 288 at the central Illinois course. They also had a 3-over 287 at Oak Brook Golf Club at the Dick Gerber Invitational in 2015.
“It’s funny because we’ve had a number of low rounds this year, but we’ve done it in different ways,” Tyler said after winning the Dick Gerber Invitational. “At Madison County, we had four kids all shoot under par. The last two days, we’ve had two kids kind of lead the pack, but you can’t shoot under par as a team without having three or four kids all playing well.”
That balance has been one of Edwardsville’s biggest strengths.
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Four different Tigers have led the team outright this season, including Cooper twice. Briggs, Capron and Shaw tied for the team lead at the Madison County Tournament.
Briggs and Cooper have the Tigers’ low rounds of the year with matching 66s. Briggs’ was a 6-under round at Belk Park during the Dick Gerber Invitational, while Cooper’s was a 5-under performance at Legacy in the second round of the tournament.
Briggs leads the team with three rounds under par, while Cooper and Shaw each have two and Capron has one.
Briggs is averaging 72.0, Shaw 72.83 and Cooper 73.5, putting all three around par. Maxim and Capron are both averaging 76.0.
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The depth extends beyond Edwardsville’s regular top six. While Brett Kirgan hasn’t played in the top six, he is averaging 77.4 over five varsity tournaments while competing as an individual or on the Tigers’ second team.
According to Tyler, any of his Tigers can step up and lead on a given day.
“As a team, this is kind of what I expected this year. We don’t really have a No. 1. We have four or five No. 1s, and on any given day another kid can take over that spot,” Tyler said.
Edwardsville will try to carry that momentum into the Southwestern Conference Tournament, which opens Sept. 1 at Belk Park Golf Course. The second round is scheduled for Sept. 15 at Stonewolf.
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EHS last won the SWC championship in 2024, its 22nd since 2000.
Tyler believes he knows what he has to do to help his team continue finding success this season.
“I knew we would surprise people this year, and I expected us to surprise some people. But as far as setting records and being consistently under par, no, I didn’t expect us to do this,” Tyler said. “I’m just trying to stay out of their way.”
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