After being ill at the previous attempt in
Houston, Texas, six months earlier, Nilsson qualified for the U.S.-based
LPGA Tour at her third attempt, when she succeeded through the LPGA Tour Qualifying School at Bent Tree, Sarasota, Florida, in December 1982, finishing 3rd among 153 players competing for 15 available spots. She played on the
LPGA Tour from 1983 to 1987 with moderate success. Her best finish was tied 11th at the
1984 Konica San Jose Classic held at the Almaden Golf & Country Club in
San Jose, California, six strokes behind winner
Amy Alcott. Nilsson ended the 1984 season 84th on the LPGA Tour money ranking. She also played in Europe, winning her first professional tournament on the
Swedish Golf Tour, at the time named the Telia Tour, at the
1986 SI Trygg-Hansa Open. She had seven other Swedish Golf Tour wins 1986–1990, including the
1989 Swedish Matchplay Championship, which since 1984 was open for professionals to enter. She became head coach for the Swedish National Women's Teams (juniors, amateurs and pros) in Sweden from 1990 to 1995 and Head Coach for the Swedish National Teams (men and women; pros, amateurs and juniors) from 1996 to 1998. By captain
Mickey Walker, Nilsson was appointed assistant captain of the
1996 European Solheim Cup team. Two years later, as the first ever Swede, she was captain of the European team in
1998 Solheim Cup at
Muirfield Village, Ohio, United States, were the U.S. team defeated the European team by 16–12. Six of the twelve players in the European team, and four of the five captain picks, were Swedish born. She was co-founder with Lynn Marriott and head coach of Vision54 Golf Academy in
Phoenix, Arizona, United States and co-author of books
Every Shot Must Have a Purpose and
The Game Before the Game. She coached a number of LPGA Tour professionals including being coach and mentor to
Annika Sörenstam. ==Personal life==