POLAND — As golf legend Annika Sorenstam and her husband, East Palestine native Mike McGee, visited the site of the Feb. 3 train derailment on Sunday, they couldn’t quite believe their eyes.

What they had previously seen in video and photos on television and online had become very real, as they witnessed the aftermath of the disaster.

“We drove yesterday through EP – we saw Mike’s old childhood house, where his grandparents lived, the school and then literally less than a mile from there is where the train derailed,” Sorenstam said Monday.

“It was all roped off and there was roadwork. … Just to see what it’s like and what they’ve been dealing with, it’s hard to fathom. It’s real when you go there and you see it and you feel it.”

What they had witnessed made their efforts on Monday all the more crucial, as the “Annika Fore East Palestine” charity golf outing at The Lake Club raised well over $100,000 to go toward the town, as it continues to heal and rebuild from the disaster.

All the funds raised will be contributed directly to East Palestine through The Way Station to help provide basic necessities for residents, invest in youth sports and fill in the gaps for those most in need of resources.

The couple “wanted to do a golf tournament — I think that’s just our way to create some awareness,” Sorenstam said. “Give them a little love and support, but also lift them up and get their spirits going. We’re not here to come up with scientific research, it’s more about giving back to the community through your sport.

I can’t believe the support, looking around at all the people, we got the best weather that you could possibly ask for and it (was) just an incredible day.”

Since stepping away from competitive golf on the LPGA in 2008, Sorenstam and her family have been particularly involved in charitable efforts all over the world, especially through the work of the ANNIKA Foundation.

The golf outing at The Lake Club is just another example of Sorenstam’s desire to give back.

“I’m super lucky to be where I am, and I say thank you in different ways,” Sorenstam said. “I feel like golf is such a great tool to do that — to create awareness, to bring people together to give back and bring a little joy. …I feel like it’s my duty, my responsibility to be able to do that because if it wasn’t for golf, I wouldn’t be here.”

Having grown up with Ed Muransky, one of the event’s organizers, owner of The Muransky Companies and president of The Lake Club, hall of fame football coach and Cardinal Mooney alum Bob Stoops felt compelled to be a part of the charitable efforts, even just two days after Stoops’ Arlington Renegades won the XFL Championship.

“Anything you can do to support and help those people, I’d like to be a part of it,” Stoops said. “Ed and I grew up together and lived on the same block. We’ve been friends forever. … (The train derailment) was devastating and you just pray for everybody and that everybody will be okay from it.”

Warren John F. Kennedy High School alum Jason Kokrak just finished tied for 11th at the LIV Golf Invitational in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Sunday, but even he was able to make it out on Monday to support the village.

Kokrak joined Sorenstam and Ohio native and former PGA Tour pro Ben Curtis to give a short game clinic on the 9th hole green to those in attendance before the outing began.

“To support this community is the very least I could do with how blessed I’ve been on the golf course over the last decade and a half,” Kokrak said. “I’ve already run into half a dozen people that I’ve known for a long time. So it’s nice to see a lot of familiar faces and take part in this great cause to uplift this community.”

Stoops, Kokrak and Curtis weren’t the only celebrity names involved. Other notable Mahoning Valley names such as former Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar, retired Youngstown State University president Jim Tressel, former YSU football coach Bo Pelini, current YSU football coach Doug Phillips and former Steeler Mike Tomczak were all on hand throughout the day, as well.