Helen Alfredsson (born 9 April 1965) is a Swedish
professional golfer who plays primarily on the U.S. based LPGA Tour and is also a life member of the Ladies European Tour.
Amateur career
Alfredsson was born in Gothenburg, Sweden. She represented Sweden
in European Junior and Senior Team championships. She was a member of
the Swedish team in the Espirito Santo Trophy World Amateur Team
Championship in 1986 and 1988 and is a six-time Swedish national
champion winning from 1981-1984, in 1986 and 1998.
She
attended United States International University and graduated in 1988
with a degree in International Business and then tried a career in
Paris as a model whilst flying with the Blue Angels and learning to
ride a Harley-Davidson. During 1986-1988 she played five times on the
Swedish Telia Tour, winning at least once a year. She turned
professional on 1 January 1989.
Professional career
Alfredsson
began her professional career on the Ladies European Tour where she was
rookie of the year in 1989. The next year, in 1990, she claimed her
maiden professional win at the Women's British Open. She won twice on
the LET in 1991 and won once each on the ALPG and Japanese tours. She
earned exempt status for the 1992 LPGA Tour season by tying for 17th at
the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament.
She
earned Rookie of the Year honors on the LPGA Tour in 1992 and has won
five LPGA Tour events, including one LPGA major: the 1993 Nabisco Dinah Shore.
Alfredsson has continued to play a limited number of events in Europe,
where she has won eleven events. She finished at the top of the
European money list in 1998. She has been a member of the European team
in the Solheim Cup five times: in 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000,
and 2002. She was captain of the European Solheim Cup team in 2007
Solheim Cup in Halmstad, Sweden. Sweden lost to the USA 12-16.
Personal life
Alfredsson
is married to former National Hockey League player Kent Nilsson and
stepmother of his son, hockey player Robert Nilsson.