Helen Alfredsson

Helen Christine Alfredsson (born 9 April 1965) is a Swedish professional golfer who played primarily on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour and is also a life member of the Ladies European Tour. She won the LPGA major Nabisco Dinah Shore and twice finished second in the U.S. Women's Open. She also won the Women's British Open once and the Evian Masters three times before those events were designated as majors in women's golf by the LPGA Tour. In 2019, she won a "senior slam" by winning both of the senior women's major championships.

Early life In 1965, Alfredsson was born in Gothenburg, Sweden. At the age of 11, she began playing golf at Gullbringa Golf & Country Club north of Gothenburg. At young ages, she represented Sweden on both junior level and in the national amateur team.

At young age she practiced ice skating and team handball. Her father Björn was a six-time Swedish handball champion and a keen golfer himself. The father and daughter won the 1999 Swedish Two Generations Mixed Championship, played as 36-hole foursome. During summertime she played in Sweden and won the Swedish Match-play Championship three years in a row 1986 through 1988, as an amateur while the championship since 1986 had become open for professionals and part of the Swedish Golf Tour for women.

In 1987, she was a member of the winning Swedish team at the European Ladies' Team Championship at Turnberry, Scotland. A little over three months after her Dinah Shore victory, Alfredsson nearly won the U.S. Women's Open at Crooked Stick Golf Club. Alfredsson entered the final round with a two-stroke advantage, but finished tied for 2nd, one shot behind winner Lauri Merten.

She was member of the European Solheim Cup team as a player eight times: 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002 and 2009. She was appointed captain of the 2007 European Solheim Cup team, losing to the United States team 12–16. When she qualified for the European Team at the 2009 Solheim Cup, she became the first, and still the only, player on both teams, to qualify as a player after she has been the team captain a previous year.

While playing golf, Alfredsson has been known to curse long and loud in Swedish. The Financial Times of London once editorialized "They can be louder and more richly worded than many of Lenny Bruce's best performances". Alfredsson said about cursing "You have to stay so focused on the tour, you work so hard, you don't want anything to interfere. But then all of a sudden this little devil comes crawling out, saying, 'It's time to do something. You've been good too long." "

In September 2013, Alfredsson officially announced her retirement from the LPGA Tour.

After her retirement from competitive golf on the regular tour, she came back, playing on the women's senior tour, the Legends Tour, primarily in the senior majors, with great success. She tied for third in the inaugural Senior LPGA Championship in 2017 and improved that by finishing tied second at the 2018 Senior LPGA Championship. She won both of the two senior ladies major championships in 2019, the U.S. Senior Women's Open and the Senior LPGA Championship, completing the same "senior slam" as Laura Davies achieved in 2018.

Personal life During her college years in San Diego, California, she met Leonardo Cuéllar, the school's soccer coach and a former World Cup and Olympic soccer player for Mexico. The couple later got engaged.

In 2005, Alfredsson married former National Hockey League player Kent Nilsson and became stepmother of his son, hockey player Robert Nilsson. Kent Nilsson was en elite amateur golfer himself, with a handicap below scratch. They divorced in 2016, but came back to live together. In 1989, Ladies European Tour awarded her their Rookie of the Year honors. In 1990, she was awarded the Swedish Golfer of the Year. In 1992, she was bestowed by the Swedish Golf Federation the Golden Club, the highest award for contributions to Swedish golf. In 1992, the LPGA Tour honored her with Rookie of the Year honors. In 1998, Alfredsson was awarded honorary member of the PGA of Sweden. In 2024, she was inducted into the Swedish Golf Hall of Fame.

Amateur wins 1981 Swedish Junior Match-play Championship 1982 Belgian Open Junior Championship 1983 Swedish Junior Match-play Championship 1985 Swedish Junior Match-play Championship

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Ladies European Tour wins (11)

Ladies European Tour playoff record (4–1) Note: Alfredsson won The Evian Championship (formerly named the Evian Masters) three times before it was recognized as a major championship on the LPGA Tour in 2013. One of those wins was after the Evian Masters was co-sanctioned with the LPGA Tour in 2000. Alfredsson won the Women's British Open once before it was co-sanctioned by the LPGA Tour in 1994 and recognized as a major championship on the LPGA Tour in 2001.

Note: 1 Co-sanctioned by LPGA Tour and Ladies European Tour

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LPGA of Japan Tour wins (3) Sources:

ALPG Tour wins (1) Source:

Swedish Golf Tour wins (4)

Other wins (2)

Legends Tour wins (2) LegendLegends Tour major championships (2)Other Legends Tour (0)

Sources:

Major championships Wins (1) YearChampionshipWinning score MarginRunners-up 1993 Nabisco Dinah Shore −4 (69-71-72-72=284) 2 strokes Tina Barrett, Amy Benz, Betsy King

Results timeline

^ The Women's British Open replaced the du Maurier Classic as an LPGA major in 2001. ^^ The Evian Championship was added as a major in 2013.

CUT = missed the half-way cut DQ = disqualified WD = withdrew T = tied

Summary Most consecutive cuts made – 9 (1997 Kraft Nabisco Championship – 1999 Kraft Nabisco Championship) Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1993 U.S. Open – 1993 du Maurier Classic)

Senior major championships Wins (2)

Team appearances Amateur European Lady Junior's Team Championship (representing Sweden): 1980, 1981 (winners), 1982, 1983, 1984 (winners), 1986 European Ladies' Team Championship (representing Sweden): 1983, 1985, 1987 (winners) Espirito Santo Trophy (representing Sweden): 1986, 1988

Professional Solheim Cup (representing Europe): 1990, 1992 (winners), 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000 (winners), 2002, 2007 (non-playing captain), 2009 World Cup (representing Sweden): 2007 Lexus Cup (representing International team): 2008 (winners) Handa Cup (representing World team): 2012 (tie), 2013 (winners), 2014, 2015