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.
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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
Father McGivney’s Sam Sink hits out of the bunker during the Dick Gerber Invitational on Aug. 28, 2026, at Belk Park Golf Course in Wood River.
Matt Kamp/The Intelligencer
Father McGivney’s Brayden Kerns 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 walks to the green during the Dick Gerber Invitational on Aug. 28, 2026, at Belk Park Golf Course in Wood River.
Matt Kamp/The Intelligencer
Edwardsville’s Michael Shaw with an iron shot during the Dick Gerber Invitational on Aug. 28, 2026, at Belk Park Golf Course in Wood River.
Matt Kamp/The Intelligencer
Father McGivney’s Sam Sink surveys the hole during the Dick Gerber Invitational on Aug. 28, 2026, at Belk Park Golf Course in Wood River.
Matt Kamp/The Intelligencer
Father McGivney’s Sam Sink hits out of the bunker during the Dick Gerber Invitational on Aug. 28, 2026, at Belk Park Golf Course in Wood River.
Matt Kamp/The Intelligencer
Father McGivney’s Sam Sink hits his approach shot during the Dick Gerber Invitational on Aug. 28, 2026, at Belk Park Golf Course in Wood River.
Matt Kamp/The Intelligencer
Edwardsville’s Brian Cooper chips during the Dick Gerber Invitational on Aug. 28, 2026, at Belk Park Golf Course in Wood River.
Matt Kamp/The Intelligencer
Edwardsville’s Brian Cooper chips onto the green 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 hits an approach shot during the Dick Gerber Invitational on Aug. 28, 2026, at Belk Park Golf Course in Wood River.
Matt Kamp/The Intelligencer
Edwardsville’s Brian Cooper putts 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 putts 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 putts during the Dick Gerber Invitational on Aug. 28, 2026, at Belk Park Golf Course in Wood River.
Matt Kamp/The Intelligencer
Father McGivney’s Brayden Kerns tees off during the Dick Gerber Invitational on Aug. 28, 2026, at Belk Park Golf Course in Wood River.
Matt Kamp/The Intelligencer
Father McGivney’s Brayden Kerns eyes 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 Bennett Briggs putts during the Dick Gerber Invitational on Aug. 28, 2026, at Belk Park Golf Course in Wood River.
Matt Kamp/The Intelligencer
Father McGivney’s Brayden Kerns during the Dick Gerber Invitational on Aug. 28, 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
The Edwardsville boys golf team won the Dick Gerber Invitational for the first time since 2019 after two rounds under par.
The Tigers carded a 5-under 567, including a 3-under 281 in the second round, to win the tournament by 17 strokes over St. Anthony.
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EHS won the last of seven straight large-school division championships in 2019. The tournament’s format switched to two 18-hole rounds and one division the following season.
“It’s been a while, but it feels really good. We’ve expanded the tournament with the teams that are coming down,” Edwardsville coach Adam Tyler said. “When you bring in better teams, it’s harder to win the tournament, but it feels a lot better when you do.”
The first round was played at Belk Park Golf Course on Aug. 28 in Wood River, with the second round at Legacy Golf Course on Aug. 29 in Granite City.
Edwardsville’s 567 was the lowest score by a Dick Gerber Invitational champion in the tournament’s current format.
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St. Anthony was second at 584, followed by Normal U-High at 588, Mater Dei at 591 and O’Fallon at 596.
The Tigers entered a second team that finished eighth with a 621, while Father McGivney was 17th in the 21-team field with a 661.
Edwardsville opened with a 2-under 286 before firing a 3-under 281 in the second round.
The Tigers counted scores from Bennett Briggs (66), Michael Shaw (72), Luke Maxim (73) and Drew Capron (75) in the first round. Brian Cooper (66), Briggs (70) and Shaw (70) led the second-round effort, while Maxim, Henry Willenborg and Capron each shot 75.
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The two rounds were Edwardsville’s second and third under par as a team this season. The Tigers shot a program-record 7-under 281 to win the Madison County Tournament at Belk Park earlier this season.
“You can’t shoot under par as a team without having three or four kids who are all playing well,” Tyler said. “That’s what we expected this year. We don’t really have one No. 1 player; we have four or five No. 1 players, and on any given day, another kid can take over that spot.”
Briggs led the way for the Tigers, shooting a 7-under 136 to finish second overall behind St. Anthony’s Logan Gowin, who carded a 10-under 133. Briggs narrowly missed become Edwardsville’s first medalist at the tournament since Trevor Laub in 2018.
Briggs fired a career-best 6-under 66 on the first day and followed it with a 1-under 70.
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“It felt pretty good. I got off to a slow start, but then I made four birdies in a row. I made the turn and kind of turned it on the back nine,” Briggs said. “I played really consistently all around and was able to drain putts all day. That really helped me read the greens and make putts.”
Briggs finished the first round with eight birdies, including five over his final six holes on the front nine. His previous best round was a 2-under 70.
At Legacy, Briggs had three birdies and an eagle.
“It was a little more difficult, but I was definitely eager to get back out there. I think I did a good job handling my emotions and keeping it going all day,” Briggs said.
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Tyler commended the job of Briggs, who played out of the No. 3 spot in the lineup.
“It’s really difficult to follow up a good round with another good round,” Tyler said. “That’s why Bennett’s round today was just as impressive as his round yesterday, even though he didn’t shoot as low.”
Shaw gave the Tigers a second top-10 finish with a two-round score of 1-under 142. He tied for sixth and was one of seven golfers to finish his two rounds in the red.
“Michael has been that consistent player for us all year. His rounds have been between 70 and 73, and he has been very consistent. It’s been fun to watch him,” Tyler said.
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Cooper finished 15th, rebounding from a 9-over 81 in the first round with a 5-under 66 in the second to finish at 4-over 147. The junior had the lowest score of the second round, beating Gowin by one stroke.
Maxim finished 16th with a 5-over 148.
Edwardsville’s second team was led by Brett Kirgan with an 11-over 154. Joel Fields and Kipton Keller each shot 12-over 155, while Carson Warta was 14-over 157.
For Father McGivney, Brayden Kerns paced the Griffins with an 18-over 161. Sam Sink was one shot behind at 19-over 162. Austin Sanks shot 25-over 168 and Jack Stirnaman finished at 27-over 170.
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The Dick Gerber Invitational is named in honor of the former Edwardsville boys golf coach.
A 1964 EHS graduate, Gerber guided the Tigers to a 662-87-8 record from 1970 to 1997. Edwardsville made 16 state tournament appearances during his tenure, including runner-up finishes in 1985 and 1988, and won five regional, six district and six sectional championships.