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Benton, IL - The Tony Stevens Cup has completed its 39th playing of the competition. This event sees teams from Southern Illinois golf clubs compete against each other across 27 holes of golf in one day. Split into 9 holes at a time, there are three formats that get played: four-ball, a modified chapman, and foursomes. Ten teams signed up to play this year with two clubs submitting two teams. Each team has six players that pair up for all three formats. The competition was held at Rend Lake Golf Course, a 27-hole facility. 
 

The first portion of the day kicked off with the four-ball format. Apple Creek Golf Club got off to a hot start. All three pairings for Apple Creek shot even par or better. Matt Hefley and Tom Portner brought in the lowest score for their team at three-under par, while Aaron Coon and Koby Watson shot two-under par. Together they took their team to the top of the leaderboard at five-under (-5) par. Blaith Belangee and Brandon Bullard shot even par, despite it not counting towards the team score.  

Greenview Golf Club and McLeansboro Golf Club #1 finished the four-ball tied in second at one-under (-1) par. Greg Kuder and Carey Wolfe shot two-under to be paired with Tyler Fleeman and Sam Beggs score of one-over for Greenview. For McLeansboro #1, Jeff Grey and Shayne Downen carded one-under to couple with Bryan Warren and Chris Hopfinger’s score of even par. Benton Country Club, Indian Hills Golf Club #1, and Indian Hills Golf Club #2 were all tied at even (E) par.  

Next in the day’s schedule was the modified Chapman format. Apple Creek Golf Club took the chance to extend their low score to stay on top. Blaith Belangee and Brandon Bullard were the low scorers for the team this time around with a score of two-under. Aaron Coon and Koby Watson contributed a round of even par to help the team finish the round two-under (-2). Adding the two rounds together, Apple Creek sat squarely on top at seven-under (-7) par.  

Greenview Golf Club and McLeansboro Golf Club #1 also scored two-under (-2) par in the second session. Tyler Fleeman and Sam Beggs along with Greg Kuder and Carey Wolfe both shot one-under for Team Greenview. McLeansboro’s team produced similar results to round one with Jeff Gray and Shayne Downen shooting two-under while Bryan Warren and Chris Hopfinger shot even par. Greenview and McLeansboro #1 pulled into a tie for second with a total of three-under (-3) par. Indian Hills Golf Club #1 and Benton Country Club both shot one-over in the Chapman format to sit in fourth with a total of One-over (+1) par.  

The final portion of the day was the foursomes format - also known as alternate shot. This is when the tide began to turn. Apple Creek Golf Club began falling back from their lead with the sides of Matt Hefley plus Tom Portner and Aaron Coon plus Koby Watson carding eight-over for the final 9 collectively. Apple Creek ended the day with a total of one-over (+1) par. This opened the door for teams like McLeansboro Golf Club #1 and Greenview Golf Club to creep in. Greenview Golf Club would close their final holes of the competition at six-over par to bring their total to three-over (+3) par. McLeansboro Golf Club #1 swooped in with the best score of the format at four-over par. Corey Phillips and Chris Hart shot five-over, while Jeff Gray and Shayne Downen added a one-under score to the pot. At the end of the day McLeansboro #1 tied Apple Creek at one-over (+1) par.  

With Apple Creek Golf Club and McLeansboro Golf Club #1 tied at the conclusion of play, a champion still needed to be determined. They turned to the tie breaker: the third score from the alternate shot that was not included in the team total. For Apple Creek, Blaith Belangee and Brandon Bullard scored eight-over as a foursome pair. Bryan Warren and Chris Hopfinger shot six-over as a foursome pair to secure the win for Team McLeansboro #1. This is McLeansboro Golf Club #1’s fourth Tony Stevens Cup title since 2021 and fifth overall.