Minnesota Scene: Mike Zimmer returns to coaching Vikings at OTAs

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer, who spent two weeks away from Winter Park to rest his troublesome right eye, received the green light from doctors to return to work Monday. He returned to Minnesota on Sunday and was back on the sideline Monday morning as Vikings Organized Team Activities resumed.

Last month, Zimmer had an eighth surgery on his eye since November, and he reluctantly agreed to take some time off work. He was driven to Kentucky on May 22 so he could relax at the ranch he built there.

The team announced that Zimmer would be gone indefinitely, but the coach vowed that his eye issues would not keep him away for long.

"I'll be back shortly. One eye or two, it really doesn't matter. I'm going to be back," Zimmer said on a conference call on May 26. "So we can put the retiring thing or whatever to bed quickly."

Zimmer is scheduled to speak with reporters after Tuesday's OTA.

MATT VENSEL

Tim Herron, the Wayzata golfer who has recorded four PGA Tour victories, is one of three people that will be part of the 2017 class for the Minnesota Golf Hall of Fame.

Also being inducted will be Roseville 78-year-old Carol Ellis, who participated in eight U.S. Women's Opens from 1964 to '77. Charles Erickson, the first head greenkeeper at the Minikahda Club in Minneapolis in 1899, will be inducted posthumously.

The Minnesota Golf Hall of Fame is housed at Bunker Hills Golf Club in Coon Rapids.

St. Paul Saints infielder Nate Hanson was named American Association player of the week. The 30-year-old former Gophers player from Chanhassen hit .375 (9-for-24) over six games, including a double, a home run and eight RBI, and he is hitting .387 on the season.

• The Saints and Texas AirHogs were postponed Monday night due to unplayable conditions in Grand Prairie, Texas. The teams will play a doubleheader Tuesday, with two seven-inning games beginning at 6:05 p.m.

• Gophers senior ace Sara Groenewegen is one of four nominees for the Honda Sport Award for softball. The winner, which will be announced later this week, is presented annually by the Collegiate Women Sports Awards to the top women's athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports, and the winner of the award is a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year.