Return to Minnesota is a pleasant one for former North Star

By KENT YOUNGBLOOD, Star Tribne

Last update: June 29, 2008 - 12:23 AM

Kent Nilsson wasn't about to return the favor.

Remember that name? Nilsson had a long NHL career, including playing with the North Stars from 1985 to '87. He was back in Minnesota on Saturday walking and watching his wife, Helen Alfredsson, charging up the leaderboard at the U.S. Women's Open at Interlachen Country Club in Edina.

"She is hitting the ball so well," said Nilsson, 51. "It's been so much fun."

About that favor: Turns out both husband and wife can golf a little. Nilsson has tried three times to qualify for the European Senior Tour. Two years ago, he came one stroke away from making it with Alfredsson on the bag. So why no quid pro quo?

Well, Alfredsson has her own caddie. Besides: "Too hard on the knees," Nilsson said, smiling. "Too much work."

The two met 11 years ago at Ulf Nilsson's wedding; Ulf is another former NHL player from Sweden who is no relation to Kent. "I saw her and it was all over," he said.

Now the marriage is an international operation. Nilsson is a European scout for the Edmonton Oilers, where his son (and Alfredsson's stepson) Robert currently plays. Alfredsson splits time between the United States and European Women's tours. And yet they make it work, never being apart for more than two weeks at a time.

Saturday, though, Nilsson was remembering his time in Minnesota. "What a beautiful place," he said. "It feels like home."

A hasty retreat

Friday's thunder came on like lightning, and yet the record crowd on the grounds was cleared out quickly and without a hitch. How fast? Dave Mona, Interlachen member and co-chair of the event, was talking to a member of the Hopkins police.

"He had been talking with a Spanish-speaking couple," Mona said. "And they told him that 20,000 people got off the golf course faster than they were able to register at the Hilton."

Zen golf

Defending U.S. Women Open champion Cristie Kerr is into Zen and the art of shot-making. "I've been working with Dr. Joseph Parent on the mental side of my game for a while now, and it's just seeming to all come together at the right time again," Kerr said this week.

Parent is a California-based Ph.D. in psychology who takes that and weds it with the tenets of Buddhism and applies them to golf. He has worked with a number of golfers over the years, including Christina Kim and major champions Vijay Singh and David Toms.

So what is Zen Golf? "You have a bad hole or a bad shot, you want to process what happened, learn from it and let it go," Parent said.

Nerves of a caddie

Mark Murphy was nervous when this tournament started Thursday. This was a big deal -- the Open. Professionally he was at the top.

"Nervous is good, though," he said Saturday afternoon.

Murphy, 32, has been an Interlachen caddie for 10 years. He is one of just a handful of local caddies who got jobs this weekend. Most golfers bring their own. Many amateurs use a friend or a family member on the bag. But when UCLA student Sydnee Michaels qualified, she knew she would need someone with local knowledge on Interlachen's tough greens.

"Mark helped me with a lot of reads," said Michaels, one of seven amateurs to make the cut. "You need to have someone who knows the quirks of the course."