Mississippi Today
From Rome and Ryder Cup to Jackson, Ludvig Aberg makes a quick turnaround

Five days ago, 23-year-old Swede Ludvig Aberg (pronounced oh-bear for reasons only Scandinavians would understand) was in Rome, playing Ryder Cup golf in front of the world. He and teammate Victor Hovland needed only nine holes to shockingly bury world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and five-time major champion Brooks Koepka 9 and 7 in a foursomes match, the most one-sided in Ryder Cup history.
Sunday night and well into daylight Monday morning, Aberg, the youngest golfer in the Ryder Cup, was still in Rome celebrating Europe’s lopsided victory.

Yes, and two days later, on Wednesday morning, at 8:17 a.m., there jet-lagged Aberg was, long and lanky and with piercing blue eyes, on the first tee of the Country Club of Jackson about to tee off in the Sanderson Farms Championship pro-am. He will begin play in the 72-hole championship Thursday afternoon at 1:50 p.m.
The obvious question was: Why? Why would the guy many experts deem golf’s next big superstar play here so soon after what he had helped accomplish more than 5,000 miles away. He was asked that in the media tent after completing his nine holes in the Wednesday’s pro-am.
“I was committed to play in this tournament before Rome,” Aberg answered. “I wanted to honor my commitment. I know it’s good for me. For me to get all these experiences on different golf courses, different tournaments, play as much as I can I know it’s good for me.”
Yes, but the jet lag? The fatigue?
“I’d like to think that I am still young and can handle it,” he answered.
There’s not much Aberg hasn’t been able to handle where golf is concerned. Before turning pro, he was No. 1 in world amateur rankings. At Texas Tech, he was a two-time winner of the Ben Hogan Award as the best collegiate player in the nation. A month ago, he won the Omega European Masters, making four birdies in the last five holes for a two-shot victory and his first victory as a pro.
Get this: Four months into his professional career, he is the betting favorite to win the Sanderson Farms Championship with 10-to-1 odds. Compare that to defending champion MacKenzie Hughes, who will go off at 45-to-1. Hattiesburg native Davis Riley, already winner of more than $6 million on tour, will go off at 55-to-1. Clearly, expectations for Aberg are off the charts.
Greenwood’s Jim Gallagher Jr., who knows a thing or two about Ryder Cup hero status, is blown away by Aberg’s potential. Gallagher covered Aberg both in college golf and last week in Rome.
“We do a lot of college golf on TV now, so I watched him a lot at Texas Tech,” said Gallagher, here in Jackson this week to provide color commentary for The Golf Channel. “His college coach described him as a once-in-a-lifetime talent, and I see nothing about him that says otherwise. Think about it: Four months ago, he’s carrying his own golf bag in college tournaments, and this past weekend he’s winning the Ryder Cup.
“His golf swing is impeccable. He hits it so far and makes it look effortless. He stays on an even keel. He’s it. He’s got it. And he’s such a nice person, he’s really easy to pull for.”
Listening to Aberg speak — and he speaks impeccable English — you realize he is determined to become the best golfer he can be, which may well be No. 1 in the world at some point. And that point could come soon.
“I was able to test the waters a little bit playing in the Ryder Cup and being around those guys,” Aberg said. “So for me to have those experiences and knowing what it takes to be the best player in the world and to create relationships with those guys and hang out with them was unbelievable. Hopefully that’s something that I’ll be able to use to my advantage the rest of this year and then also for the rest of my career.”
What did he learn from playing with — and against — the best of the best?
“They’re very good at handling and managing their own game,” Aberg answered. “It doesn’t matter what the situation is, they know what it takes, and they know their own capabilities. It sounds maybe cheesy to say, but they really are the masters of it, and that’s what I am trying to strive towards. That’s what I am trying to get to.”
What Aberg also surely learned, although he wouldn’t say it, is that he belongs with the best. The pressure of the Ryder Cup was by no means too big for him even though, as he said, “I was shaking on that first tee.”
If the Sanderson Farms Championship were a football game, Aberg’s coach probably would warn him against an emotional letdown. Think about it: He goes from playing in and winning one of golf’s biggest, most pressure-packed events before tens of thousands, to playing in a much more low-key tournament in front of hundreds. Aberg says he doesn’t look at it that way.
“I am going to be nervous Thursday morning no matter what,” he said. “I’m going to view it as the most important thing in the world as I’m standing on the tee box … Obviously last week was an incredible experience, but it’s also in the past. I am here this week. That’s where my focus is.”
As it should be.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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Mississippi Today
1964: Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party was formed
April 26, 1964

Civil rights activists started the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party to challenge the state’s all-white regular delegation to the Democratic National Convention.
The regulars had already adopted this resolution: “We oppose, condemn and deplore the Civil Rights Act of 1964 … We believe in separation of the races in all phases of our society. It is our belief that the separation of the races is necessary for the peace and tranquility of all the people of Mississippi, and the continuing good relationship which has existed over the years.”
In reality, Black Mississippians had been victims of intimidation, harassment and violence for daring to try and vote as well as laws passed to disenfranchise them. As a result, by 1964, only 6% of Black Mississippians were permitted to vote. A year earlier, activists had run a mock election in which thousands of Black Mississippians showed they would vote if given an opportunity.
In August 1964, the Freedom Party decided to challenge the all-white delegation, saying they had been illegally elected in a segregated process and had no intention of supporting President Lyndon B. Johnson in the November election.
The prediction proved true, with white Mississippi Democrats overwhelmingly supporting Republican candidate Barry Goldwater, who opposed the Civil Rights Act. While the activists fell short of replacing the regulars, their courageous stand led to changes in both parties.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Mississippi Today
Mississippi River flooding Vicksburg, expected to crest on Monday
Warren County Emergency Management Director John Elfer said Friday floodwaters from the Mississippi River, which have reached homes in and around Vicksburg, will likely persist until early May. Elfer estimated there areabout 15 to 20 roads underwater in the area.
“We’re about half a foot (on the river gauge) from a major flood,” he said. “But we don’t think it’s going to be like in 2011, so we can kind of manage this.”
The National Weather projects the river to crest at 49.5 feet on Monday, making it the highest peak at the Vicksburg gauge since 2020. Elfer said some residents in north Vicksburg — including at the Ford Subdivision as well as near Chickasaw Road and Hutson Street — are having to take boats to get home, adding that those who live on the unprotected side of the levee are generally prepared for flooding.



“There are a few (inundated homes), but we’ve mitigated a lot of them,” he said. “Some of the structures have been torn down or raised. There are a few people that still live on the wet side of the levee, but they kind of know what to expect. So we’re not too concerned with that.”
The river first reached flood stage in the city — 43 feet — on April 14. State officials closed Highway 465, which connects the Eagle Lake community just north of Vicksburg to Highway 61, last Friday.

Elfer said the areas impacted are mostly residential and he didn’t believe any businesses have been affected, emphasizing that downtown Vicksburg is still safe for visitors. He said Warren County has worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency to secure pumps and barriers.
“Everybody thus far has been very cooperative,” he said. “We continue to tell people stay out of the flood areas, don’t drive around barricades and don’t drive around road close signs. Not only is it illegal, it’s dangerous.”
NWS projects the river to stay at flood stage in Vicksburg until May 6. The river reached its record crest of 57.1 feet in 2011.




This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Mississippi Today
With domestic violence law, victims ‘will be a number with a purpose,’ mother says
Joslin Napier. Carlos Collins. Bailey Mae Reed.
They are among Mississippi domestic violence homicide victims whose family members carried their photos as the governor signed a bill that will establish a board to study such deaths and how to prevent them.
Tara Gandy, who lost her daughter Napier in Waynesboro in 2022, said it’s a moment she plans to tell her 5-year-old grandson about when he is old enough. Napier’s presence, in spirit, at the bill signing can be another way for her grandson to feel proud of his mother.
“(The board) will allow for my daughter and those who have already lost their lives to domestic violence … to no longer be just a number,” Gandy said. “They will be a number with a purpose.”
Family members at the April 15 private bill signing included Ashla Hudson, whose son Collins, died last year in Jackson. Grandparents Mary and Charles Reed and brother Colby Kernell attended the event in honor of Bailey Mae Reed, who died in Oxford in 2023.
Joining them were staff and board members from the Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the statewide group that supports shelters and advocated for the passage of Senate Bill 2886 to form a Domestic Violence Facility Review Board.
The law will go into effect July 1, and the coalition hopes to partner with elected officials who will make recommendations for members to serve on the board. The coalition wants to see appointees who have frontline experience with domestic violence survivors, said Luis Montgomery, public policy specialist for the coalition.
A spokesperson from Gov. Tate Reeves’ office did not respond to a request for comment Friday.
Establishment of the board would make Mississippi the 45th state to review domestic violence fatalities.
Montgomery has worked on passing a review board bill since December 2023. After an unsuccessful effort in 2024, the coalition worked to build support and educate people about the need for such a board.
In the recent legislative session, there were House and Senate versions of the bill that unanimously passed their respective chambers. Authors of the bills are from both political parties.
The review board is tasked with reviewing a variety of documents to learn about the lead up and circumstances in which people died in domestic violence-related fatalities, near fatalities and suicides – records that can include police records, court documents, medical records and more.
From each review, trends will emerge and that information can be used for the board to make recommendations to lawmakers about how to prevent domestic violence deaths.
“This is coming at a really great time because we can really get proactive,” Montgomery said.
Without a board and data collection, advocates say it is difficult to know how many people have died or been injured in domestic-violence related incidents.
A Mississippi Today analysis found at least 300 people, including victims, abusers and collateral victims, died from domestic violence between 2020 and 2024. That analysis came from reviewing local news stories, the Gun Violence Archive, the National Gun Violence Memorial, law enforcement reports and court documents.
Some recent cases the board could review are the deaths of Collins, Napier and Reed.
In court records, prosecutors wrote that Napier, 24, faced increased violence after ending a relationship with Chance Fabian Jones. She took action, including purchasing a firearm and filing for a protective order against Jones.
Jones’s trial is set for May 12 in Wayne County. His indictment for capital murder came on the first anniversary of her death, according to court records.
Collins, 25, worked as a nurse and was from Yazoo City. His ex-boyfriend Marcus Johnson has been indicted for capital murder and shooting into Collins’ apartment. Family members say Collins had filed several restraining orders against Johnson.
Johnson was denied bond and remains in jail. His trial is scheduled for July 28 in Hinds County.
He was a Jackson police officer for eight months in 2013. Johnson was separated from the department pending disciplinary action leading up to immediate termination, but he resigned before he was fired, Jackson police confirmed to local media.
Reed, 21, was born and raised in Michigan and moved to Water Valley to live with her grandparents and help care for her cousin, according to her obituary.
Kylan Jacques Phillips was charged with first degree murder for beating Reed, according to court records. In February, the court ordered him to undergo a mental evaluation to determine if he is competent to stand trial, according to court documents.
At the bill signing, Gandy said it was bittersweet and an honor to meet the families of other domestic violence homicide victims.
“We were there knowing we are not alone, we can travel this road together and hopefully find ways to prevent and bring more awareness about domestic violence,” she said.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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