Ryo handed Hazeltine invite

Ryo Ishikawa will become the youngest player to compete at the USPGA Championship after being handed an invite to this year's event.

Japanese prodigy to tee it up at USPGA Championship

Ryo Ishikawa will become the youngest player to compete at the USPGA Championship after being handed an invite to play at this year's tournament. Ishikawa, at 17 years and 10 months, will break the record of Gene Sarazen when he tees it up at Hazeltine National Golf Club from August 13-16. It will be the Japanese prodigy's second major having already competed at The Masters last month - where he missed the cut - and he is excited by his latest opportunity. "I received the news today (Tuesday), I'm very happy," Ishikawa told reporters in his homeland. "It is an honour to be put in the record books and I may get special attention from the local crowd. But age doesn't matter when you go out there to play. "People may look at me and ask, 'Is that guy a pro, too?' But I'd be glad if anyone in the gallery says, 'He doesn't look like a 17-year-old when he plays. "My impression is that it's an extremely tough layout and I will aim as high as I can." Ishikawa is a two-time winner on the Japanese Tour, but has struggled on his first few outings on the PGA Tour. As well as missing out at Augusta, the teenager was also cut at the Northern Trust Open and the Arnold Palmer Invitational and finished in a tie for 71st at the Transitions Championship.