On Sunday, the Miles College golf team boarded a flight to Miyoshi City, Japan, to compete in the University Golf Super League tournament, which features men’s and women’s collegiate golf teams from Japan, the United States and throughout Asia. The Golden Bears are playing 18-hole rounds on three consecutive days beginning Sept 4.

“I got a call from people with the PGA Tour Pathway to Progression (program) and asked if we would like to participate. Most of the time, it’s Division I schools that are chosen to compete in this event. But they asked if we wanted to go,” said golf head coach Leonard Smoot, who was inducted into the African American Golfers Hall of Fame in West Palm Beach, Florida, in 2019.

“I thought it was a great opportunity for our student-athletes at Miles College to be able to travel abroad and see something different outside of the U.S. Many of them haven’t traveled outside of the country, so I thought this was a great opportunity. So, I said yes.”

It’s been a banner year for the Miles golf team led by Smoot, a retired chief warrant officer who served more than 24 years in the U.S. Marine Corps and became the third Black golfer to make the Marine Golf Team and compete in the All Inter-Service Golf Championships.

Miles Head Golf Coach Leonard Smoot. (Birmingham Times)

The Golden Knights won another Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Golf Championship in April, but Smoot didn’t rest on those laurels. Instead of the regular tasks of recruiting and scheduling, he and the Golden Bears set sights on another opportunity – the University Golf Super League, one of the most prestigious collegiate golf events in Japan.

Senior Phillip Darst remembered when Smoot approached the team about this opportunity.

“It was a random question in the middle of the summer. How would y’all like to go play in Japan? Me and my teammates, we all were like, yeah,” Darst remembered. “But when I found out it was actually happening, I was stoked.”

Darst has done all he can to make sure he’s ready for his shot to be atop the leaderboard.

“I’ve been trying to prepare the best that I can. They have a similar climate to what we have here. I’ve researched the course. I see what kind of grass they have on their greens, and I’ve putted on it before. We might be playing at elevation, so that part might be a little tricky.”

Darst and team captain Malachi Greene never considered international golf when they chose to play collegiate golf at Miles.

“These opportunities don’t come every day, so I’m appreciative that we have this chance,” Green said. “I praise God and give Him all the glory for having an experience like this.

“When I came to Miles, I was just focused on winning a championship. After getting that under our belt, this is the next opportunity that we get to take on.”

Greene, an All-Conference selection, said he did not know quite what to expect once the Golden Bears arrived in Japan. But the team members have goals they intend to accomplish along the way.

“We talk about our expectations and about representing your family, your last name, yourself and Miles. We have to focus on representing them all in a good way,” Greene said. “But we’re not just going to have an experience. We’re going there to win.”

Smoot said the trip is as much about representing Miles as it is about playing golf.

“We get to be ambassadors for the institution and our sports programs,” he said, “being able to compete against other countries and showcase what we have in term of sports here at Miles.”

Director of Athletics Fred Watson described the trip as a cultural experience.

“Yes, we are going over there to compete at the highest level and show the world what Miles College is capable of, but more importantly, it is a great education and enrichment opportunity for our golfers, as well as a tremendous opportunity to expand our brand and the visibility of our athletic department,” he said. “We are grateful for the invite.”

This article was originally published by The Birmingham Times.