There might have been a trophy and a trip to Florida at stake, but you wouldn’t have known it from Joe Neal’s calm demeanor on the back nine yesterday afternoon at A.L. Gustin Golf Course.

The Rock Bridge senior-to-be seemed to treat the home stretch of his final round in the Optimist International Junior golf district qualifying tournament like any of the other hundreds of walks he’s made up and down Gustin’s slopes.

Capping off a round of even-par 70 with two birdies in his final eight holes, Neal turned what had been a two-shot lead at the start of the day into an eight-stroke slaughter against 41 of the top junior golfers, ages 16-18, in Missouri.

"I was a little surprised. I thought the scores would be better than this," said Neal, who took advantage of the familiar surroundings to finish with a two-day score of 1-over-par 141. "It’s nice to know your way around, especially because Gustin’s got some doglegs and stuff. It’s not a real tough course, but it can be tricky. It’s always good to play steady, not make any stupid mistakes and come out on top."

Not to mention earn an expenses-paid trip to the Optimist International Junior Golf Championships, to be held July 24-29 at the PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

Ryan Berra of Chesterfield and Andy Hogenmiller of Washington also earned the right to play in Florida after tying for second with scores of 149 in the 36-hole tournament.

J.D. Sabio of Des Peres grabbed the final qualifying spot in the 16-18 division from the Eastern Missouri district by beating Zach Richardet of Perryville in a one-hole playoff. Sabio made par on No. 10 after the two players finishing with matching scores of 151.

No one put pressure on Neal after his third hole.

His closest competition at the start of the day actually came from Derek Baade, the reigning MSHSAA Class 3 champion from St. Joseph, who was playing out of district in the tournament. He began the afternoon two shots behind Neal after an opening-round 73, but he erased all of that deficit with an eagle on the par-5 first.

But after a par on No. 2, things quickly deteriorated for Baade. He made triple bogeys on Nos. 3 and 4. By the time he four-putted for double-bogey on No. 9, he was out of contention. He finished with a final-round 79, which left him tied with Ballwin’s Bobby Mayer, the third member of the final grouping, at 152 for the tournament.

Neal was immune to the struggles that hit his befell his playing partners. He recovered from bogeys at No. 3 and No. 6 with a birdie on No. 7 after sticking his approach about 3 feet from the cup. He closed the front nine with back-to-back pars and was 2-over for the tournament.

A bogey on No. 10 dropped him to 3-over, but he bounced back with a birdie on No. 11 after rolling in a putt from outside 10 feet. He avoided trouble the rest of the round, making a birdie on No. 16 from about 7 feet and narrowly missing two other chances on No. 12 and No. 17.

"I’ve been working on my swing," said Neal, who endured a sometimes frustrating high school season as he implemented those changes. "I feel like I’m getting closer to finding some consistency and being able to find something that I’ll be able to work with for quite a while, and that will help continue to improve and get to where I want to be."

Neal might have dominated his competition, but he had no part in the tournament’s most memorable moments. Those belonged to Berra, who picked up the first hole-in-one of his life Wednesday when he spun back a 9-iron on the par-3 second during a round of 75.

"My grandpa said he’d give me a house, his house, if I got another one," said Berra, who’ll get to learn if his grandfather was sincere.

That’s because Berra flew in a 7-iron on the par-5 fifth yesterday, which was easily the highlight of his round of 74. He also won a playoff with Hogenmiller for second place when he made bogey on No. 11.

Tanner McKinney of Piedmont won the boys 14-15 division with a two-day total of 148. He beat St. Charles’ Nick Goeke by four strokes. Both qualified for the championships to be held July 19-24 in Palm Beach Gardens.

Sky Seo of St. Louis won by six strokes over Samatha Keller of Ballwin in the girls 16-18 division. She finished with a total of 147.

Madeline Conlin of St. Peters edged Brandy Jung of Weldon Spring by one stroke in the girls 14-15 division. She finished with a total of 169.

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