Helen Alfredsson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Helen Alfredsson
Alfredsson in 2014
Personal information
Full name	Helen Christine Alfredsson
Nickname	Alfie
Born	(1965-04-09) 9 April 1965 (age 60) Gothenburg, Sweden
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Nationality	Sweden
Residence	Orlando, Florida, U.S. Onsala, Kungsbacka, Sweden
Spouse	Kent Nilsson (2005–2016)
Partner	Kent Nilsson
Career
College	U.S. International University (graduated 1988)
Turned professional	1989
Current tour(s)	Legends Tour (2012–present)
Former tour(s)	Ladies European Tour (1989–2013) LPGA Tour (1992–2013)
Professional wins	29
Number of wins by tour
LPGA Tour	7
Ladies European Tour	11
LPGA of Japan Tour	3
ALPG Tour	1
Other	6 (regular) 2 (senior)
Best results in LPGA Major Championships (Wins: 1)
Kraft Nabisco C'ship	Won: 1993
LPGA Championship	T5: 1992
U.S. Women's Open	2nd/T2: 1993, 2008
du Maurier Classic	T8: 1993
Women's British Open	T40: 2002
The Evian Championship	CUT: 2013
Achievements and awards
Ladies European Tour Rookie of the Year	1989
LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year	1992
Ladies European Tour Order of Merit	1998
Swedish Golfer of the Year	1990

Helen Christine Alfredsson, born on April 9, 1965, is a famous Swedish professional golfer. She played most of her career on the LPGA Tour in the U.S. and is also a lifetime member of the Ladies European Tour. Helen is known for winning a major golf championship, the 1993 Nabisco Dinah Shore. She also finished second twice in the U.S. Women's Open. In 2019, she achieved a special "senior slam" by winning two major championships for older women golfers.

Helen Alfredsson: Early Life and Amateur Golf

Helen Alfredsson was born in Gothenburg, Sweden. She started playing golf at age 11 at a club near her home. As a young golfer, she played for Sweden's junior and national amateur teams.

She went to United States International University in San Diego, California. She played on their golf team and graduated in 1988. During her summers, she played in Sweden. She won the Swedish Match-play Championship three years in a row from 1986 to 1988. She won these as an amateur, even though the championship was open to professionals.

In 1987, Helen was part of the Swedish team that won the European Ladies' Team Championship in Scotland. She also played for Sweden in the Espirito Santo Trophy in 1986 and 1988. In 1988, Sweden finished second, which was their best result ever at the time. Helen also won a bronze medal at the European Ladies' Championship that same year. She became a professional golfer on January 1, 1989.

Becoming a Professional Golfer

Helen started her professional career on the Ladies European Tour (LET). She was named the 1989 LET Rookie of the Year. In 1990, she got her first professional win at the Women's British Open. She won two more times on the LET in 1991. She also won once on the Australian tour and once on the Japan tour.

She joined the LPGA Tour in 1992 and was named the LPGA Rookie of the Year. She has won seven LPGA Tour events. This includes one major championship: the 1993 Nabisco Dinah Shore. A few months after this big win, Helen almost won the 1993 U.S. Women's Open. She led going into the final round but finished tied for second place.

In 1994, at the 1994 U.S. Women's Open, Helen set a new tournament record. She shot an amazing 8-under-par 63 in the first round. Her score after 36 holes also broke a tournament record. She even reached 13-under-par during the third round. This was the lowest score ever reached in a U.S. Open at that time.

While playing on the LPGA Tour, Helen also played in Europe. She won eleven times there and was the top earner on the Ladies European Tour in 1998. In 2008, after recovering from injuries, she won her third Evian Masters title. This was her first LPGA Tour win in five years.

Playing for Europe: Solheim Cup

Helen was a member of the European Solheim Cup team eight times as a player. The Solheim Cup is a big team competition between Europe and the United States. She played in 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2009.

In 2007, she was chosen to be the captain of the European Solheim Cup team. Her team lost to the United States. When she played in the 2009 Solheim Cup, she made history. She became the first player to play in the event after being a team captain in a previous year.

Life After the Main Tour

In September 2013, Helen announced she was retiring from the main LPGA Tour. After this, she started playing on the women's senior tour, called the Legends Tour. She has been very successful there, especially in the senior major championships.

In 2017, she finished third in the first Senior LPGA Championship. In 2018, she improved to tied for second. In 2019, she won both of the two major championships for senior ladies. These were the U.S. Senior Women's Open and the Senior LPGA Championship. This achievement is called a "senior slam."

Awards and Recognition

Helen Alfredsson is a lifetime member of the Ladies European Tour. In 1986, she received a special honor from the Swedish Golf Federation. This was for her national team appearances and championship performances.

In 1990, she was named the Swedish Golfer of the Year. This award is for the best Swedish golfer, male or female, amateur or professional. In 1992, she received the Golden Club from the Swedish Golf Federation. This is the highest award for contributions to Swedish golf. In 1998, she became an honorary member of the PGA of Sweden. In 2024, Helen was inducted into the Swedish Golf Hall of Fame.

Personal Life

When she was younger, Helen also enjoyed ice skating and playing team handball. Her father, Björn, was a six-time Swedish handball champion. He was also a very good golfer. In 1999, Helen and her father won the Swedish Two Generations Mixed Championship together. In recent years, Helen has also practiced yoga.

In 2005, Helen married Kent Nilsson, a former professional ice hockey player. She became a stepmother to his son, Robert Nilsson, who also became a hockey player. Kent Nilsson was also a very good amateur golfer. They divorced in 2016 but later decided to live together again. Helen has also helped start a charity golf tournament. This tournament supports research into Alzheimer's disease, which affected her mother.

Professional Wins Summary

Helen Alfredsson has won 29 professional tournaments in her career.

• LPGA Tour Wins (7): She won seven times on the LPGA Tour. Her biggest win was the 1993 Nabisco Dinah Shore, which is a major championship. She also won the Evian Masters in 2008, which was co-sanctioned by the LPGA Tour.
• Ladies European Tour Wins (11): She won eleven times on the Ladies European Tour. This includes the Women's British Open in 1990. She also won the Evian Masters twice before it became an LPGA major.
• LPGA of Japan Tour Wins (3): She won three times in Japan.
• ALPG Tour Wins (1): She won once in Australia.
• Swedish Golf Tour Wins (4): She won four times on the Swedish Golf Tour, even as an amateur.
• Other Wins (2): She also won two team events.
• Legends Tour Wins (2): On the senior tour, she won two major championships in 2019. These were the U.S. Senior Women's Open and the Senior LPGA Championship.

Major Championships

Helen Alfredsson won one major championship: the 1993 Nabisco Dinah Shore. She also had strong finishes in other majors. She finished second twice in the U.S. Women's Open.

^ The Women's British Open became an LPGA major in 2001.
^^ The Evian Championship became a major in 2013.      Win      Top 10      Did not play CUT = missed the half-way cut (did not finish)
DQ = disqualified (removed from the competition)
WD = withdrew (left the competition early)
T = tied (finished with the same score as another player)

Summary of Major Championship Results

Helen played in 78 major championship events and made the cut in 49 of them. She won 1 major, finished 2nd twice, and 3rd once. She had 11 top-10 finishes in majors.

Senior Major Championships

Helen Alfredsson has won two senior major championships.

Year	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
2019	U.S. Senior Women's Open	+1 (75-69-69-72=285)	2 strokes	Juli Inkster Trish Johnson
2019	Senior LPGA Championship	−2 (72-72-70=214)	3 strokes	Juli Inkster

Team Appearances

Helen Alfredsson has represented Sweden and Europe in many team golf events.

Amateur Teams

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

Professional Teams

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

See also

• List of golfers with most Ladies European Tour wins