The COVID-19 outbreak is a worldwide pandemic with Italy the worst affected country outside of China. The country is currently on lockdown with 24,747 confirmed cases and 1,809 deaths attributed to the virus. We caught up with Italian golfer Guido Migliozzi, who is currently practising at Jumeirah Golf Estates, to get his thoughts on the outbreak in his homeland.
“It’s something that is new for everyone and we need to take care of ourselves and our families,” he said. “We need to be patient because this COVID-19 outbreak is a pandemic so we must wait for the European Tour Committee to make a decision on what will happen in the future.
“All my friends and family back home in Italy are on lockdown. It’s very hard to leave the house and do daily tasks such as going to the supermarket. It’s really crazy out there and you have to be there to believe what is going on. It’s really tough.” – Guido Migliozzi
“I’m going to be moving out to Dubai soon but I’m just waiting for my apartment to be ready. I’m in the right place right now as I can practice on all these great courses out here. It’s like a dream out here for golf with all the fantastic facilities. I just hope they don’t close them due to COVID-19.”
Migliozzi isn’t alone out here in the emirate. His girlfriend and compatriots Renato Paratore and Nino Bertasio are also in the city with the quartet unable to return to Italy.
“It’s tough to keep motivated when you don’t know when you will be playing tournament golf,” he said. “Since I was six years old I have always played at least one tournament in a month aside from the winter break. I try and go on the course and play with friends to keep the motivation up. I’ve been spending a lot of time with Nino and Renato out here so we have little games against eachother out on the course. The morning and afternoon are reserved for golf while the evening is for games of paddle tennis!”
