Lydia Ko and Israel Dagg have been golfing buddies for a few years. Photo / Martin Hunter
By Israel Dagg's reckoning a round of golf of with Lydia Ko was a good test as he prepares to make his rugby return following surgery on his dislocated shoulder.
Dagg swung the club freely during the New Zealand Women's Open pro-am, where was in a team with Ko, tournament
sponsor Dr Haruhisa Handa and Ian Kennedy at Clearwater Resort in Christchurch.
"It's been tough the past few months watching all the boys training," Dagg said. "I've been doing all the training but I just haven't been able to get out on the field. Now I can swing a club I'm sure I can play some footy."
Dagg, who dislocated his shoulder playing for Hawkes Bay in the national provincial championship, left Clearwater after five hours on the fairways to head to the gym for more fitness work as he eyed a return to the field with the Crusaders in April. Before then he will continue to build up his strength so he's ready for contact "and the falling over where you brace yourself and which you can't plan for".
Dagg famously starred alongside Ko in the video she used to announce she was turning pro but this was the first full round he'd played with the world No 1.
