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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.<\/p>\n
Matt Kamp\/The Intelligencer<\/p>\n
Edwardsville’s Bennett Briggs competes at the Madison County Tournament on Aug. 20, 2026, at Belk Park Golf Course in Wood River.<\/p>\n
Matt Kamp\/The Intelligencer<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Matt Kamp\/The Intelligencer<\/p>\n
Edwardsville’s Luke Maxim watches the flight of his shot\u00a0during the Dick Gerber Invitational on Aug. 28, 2026, at Belk Park Golf Course in Wood River.<\/p>\n
Matt Kamp\/The Intelligencer<\/p>\n
Edwardsville’s Drew Capron competes at the Madison County Tournament on Aug. 20, 2026, at Belk Park Golf Course in Wood River.<\/p>\n
Matt Kamp\/The Intelligencer<\/p>\n
Before the start of the 2026 boys golf season, Edwardsville coach Adam Tyler predicted that his team could catch some people by surprise.<\/p>\n
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What he didn\u2019t anticipate was how low the Tigers would go.<\/p>\n
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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.<\/p>\n
Edwardsville has won the Madison County Tournament and the two-round Dick Gerber Invitational. The county championship was the team\u2019s 13th in the last 15 county tournaments, while the Dick Gerber Invitational championship was its first since 2019.<\/p>\n
The Tigers also finished second at the Alton Tee-Off Classic and Quincy Invitational. Edwardsville\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Edwardsville returned three golfers who competed in last year\u2019s postseason after the Tigers finished second at the regional but didn\u2019t advance out of the sectional. Those three included Intelligencer MVP Brian Cooper, Bennett Briggs and Drew Capron.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe 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\u2019s exciting to see,\u201d Tyler said. \u201cI think we have the ability to surprise some people this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Tigers have done exactly that, though their performance may even be exceeding Tyler\u2019s expectations.<\/p>\n
Three of Edwardsville\u2019s six rounds have been under par, including a 7-under 281 at the Madison County Tournament at Belk Park that broke the program record.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s current format.<\/p>\n
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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.<\/p>\n
Before this season, the program\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s funny because we\u2019ve had a number of low rounds this year, but we\u2019ve done it in different ways,\u201d Tyler said after winning the Dick Gerber Invitational. \u201cAt Madison County, we had four kids all shoot under par. The last two days, we\u2019ve had two kids kind of lead the pack, but you can\u2019t shoot under par as a team without having three or four kids all playing well.\u201d<\/p>\n
That balance has been one of Edwardsville\u2019s biggest strengths.<\/p>\n
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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.<\/p>\n
Briggs and Cooper have the Tigers\u2019 low rounds of the year with matching 66s. Briggs\u2019 was a 6-under round at Belk Park during the Dick Gerber Invitational, while Cooper\u2019s was a 5-under performance at Legacy in the second round of the tournament.<\/p>\n
Briggs leads the team with three rounds under par, while Cooper and Shaw each have two and Capron has one.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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The depth extends beyond Edwardsville\u2019s regular top six. While Brett Kirgan hasn\u2019t played in the top six, he is averaging 77.4 over five varsity tournaments while competing as an individual or on the Tigers\u2019 second team.<\/p>\n
According to Tyler, any of his Tigers can step up and lead on a given day.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a team, this is kind of what I expected this year. We don\u2019t really have a No. 1. We have four or five No. 1s, and on any given day another kid can take over that spot,\u201d Tyler said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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EHS last won the SWC championship in 2024, its 22nd since 2000.<\/p>\n
Tyler believes he knows what he has to do to help his team continue finding success this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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\u2019t expect us to do this,\u201d Tyler said. \u201cI\u2019m just trying to stay out of their way.\u201d<\/p>\n
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