Against the state’s heavyweights, the Albert Lea boys’ golf team held its ground.

The No. 6 Class AA Tigers tied for third place out of 16 teams with a score of 304 on Day 1 of the sixth annual Albert Lea Invitational Friday at Green Lea Golf Course.

“In the six years that I’ve been involved with our program, that’s our lowest score,” said Tigers coach Casey McIntyre. “I told them that I’m proud of them, and that I hope we can do the same thing tomorrow.”

Edina, the top team in the Class AAA polls and the defending state champion, led the field with a score of 289. Lakeville South was second with 295.

Wayzata, the No. 4 team in Class AAA and defending state runner-up, was tied with Albert Lea.

Austin and Mankato East were the only other teams from the Big Nine Conference that participated. Mankato East, last year’s fourth-place Class AA state finisher, trailed Albert Lea by seven strokes. McIntyre said the Cougars will be the Tigers’ main competition later this season at the Section 2AA meet.

Alex Syverson led Albert Lea by completing the course in 74 strokes.

“He lives, eats and breathes golf,” McIntyre said. “He’s been a vocal leader for the team.”

Brady Loch followed with a score of 76, and Ryan Peterson and Jack Pulley posted 77s to round out the team scoring.

Loch shaved 13 strokes from his score Tuesday at Owatonna.

“That says a lot about his tenacity to be able to rein it back in and play well on the greens,” McIntyre said. “He’s really bringing it back together.”

Peterson and Pulley’s scores are vital to building a team score that is competitive with the top teams in the state.

“It changes the whole dynamic of our team if we can have those two guys consistently shooting in the 70s,” he said.

Day 2 of the invite Saturday at Wedgewood Cove Golf Club finished after the Tribune’s Sunday deadline. Look for results in Monday’s Tribune.

McIntyre said the team is excited to see what it can accomplish in the section tournament.

“We’re trending in the right direction to peak in the postseason,” he said.