On June 7, 2007, actor Rob Lowe was participating in the Principal Charity Classic Pro-Am at the Glen Oaks Country Club in West Des Moines.

Lowe was hitting an approach shot on the par 4 fourth hole when his ball collided with an Eastern goldfinch - the state bird of Iowa -- in mid-flight. The ball dropped about 50 yards short of the green, while the bird dropped dead.

He was wearing an Iowa Hawkeyes cap while playing in a group, which included University of Iowa Athletic Director Gary Barta.

Afterward, the insurance company sponsoring the tournament said that the odds of hitting and killing the state bird with a golf shot were 1 in 747 million.

In an interview with Conan O'Brien in 2015, Lowe said that he gave up on the sport of golf after the incident.

See a photo HERE. 

"Male American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) - Ontario, Canada"
BrianLasenby
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