By Waylon Galvez Late last month, amateur golfer Luis Miguel Castro returned to the Philippines following an unforgettable flight back from the US following the lockdown because of the coronavirus. Luis Miguel Castro takes a selfie at the Incheon International Airport in South Korea. (Photo courtesy of Luis Miguel Castro) Castro, 19, was supposed to return early May after finishing his second year at University of North Carolina but only came back weeks later after a series of delays, including a three-day stay inside the Incheon International Airport in South Korea. “Three days at the airport,” said Castro, son of former Gilas Pilipinas team manager and University of the Philippines coach Aboy Castro. “It was only on the third night that I was able to check in at the airport hotel.” Castro told the Manila Bulletin in a telephone interview Thursday that he initially left North Carolina May 3 for Detroit, where he took a flight to the Philippines via South Korea. However, upon his arrival in Incheon, the Philippine government, has by then, barred international flights from entering, so Castro decided to return to the US where he stayed in a hotel in Los Angeles for quarantine purposes - a must since he came from Korea. Luis Miguel Castro strolls an almost empty shopping center of the Incheon International Airport. (Photo courtesy of Luis Miguel Castro) Castro left LA last May 17 for South Korea but encountered another problem – his flight to the Philippines was still not permitted. He stayed for three days at the Airport before he finally got a flight to the Philippines in the early morning of May 20. During that ordeal, he said that there was worry of being infected with the coronavirus. “I’ve been to different airports, you can’t help but worry,” Castro said, a second year student at North Carolina – the alma mater of NBA great Michael Jordan – with a Major in Exercise Science. “But during those moments, I talked to my parents; they kept checking on me, encouraging me. I wore face masks all the time, and also had goggles when inside the airplane for protection, and practiced health protocols.” “So for me, I know that I’m okay. But while at the Incheon Airport, I saw a lot of Overseas Filipino Workers and the hardships they had to go through – it was for me heartbreaking, emotional." When he arrived, Castro had a swab test for COVID-19, which after five days came out negative. He also stayed at a hotel for several days following his arrival as part of the quarantine protocols. Luis Miguel Castro looks on after hitting a shot during round one of the men's individual golf event at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta. (AFP) “After that, I was finally reunited with my family – very happy of course,” said Castro. With golf finally allowed last Monday by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease in various places under the General Community Quarantine (GCQ), Castro said he is looking forward to playing again after almost three months. “I last played March 8 to be exact,” said Castro, a member of the Philippine team that took bronze medal in the team event of the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games here last December. “So yes, I’m pretty excited to return to the golf course. Of course, we are very thankful to the National Golf Association of the Philippine (NGAP) – it was their initiative, and to the IATF for allowing golf,” he added.