Captain Love hands Fowler, Holmes and Kuchar Ryder Cup wildcards

Davis Love III has added JB Holmes, Rickie Fowler and Matt Kuchar to his Ryder Cup team which leaves just one spot up for grabs.

As things stand that leaves Bubba Watson, who finished above all three of these wildcards, still not on the team though he will have one final chance to impress Love at the Tour Championship. If you were Bubba you might be excused for being slightly anxious that you hadn’t already had the nod.

Others who are also at East Lake and have a chance of a pick include Daniel Berger, Justin Thomas, Kevin Kisner and Ryan Moore.

Some thought Fowler, without a win in eight matches but part of the American task force, had played his way off the team but he will be at Hazeltine for his third appearance.

See you guys at Hazeltine!!??

— Rickie Fowler (@RickieFowler) September 12, 2016

Holmes has not played since Valhalla in 2008, the only American victory since Brookline in 1999 and he might be seen as something of a lucky charm given that he has represented his country in the Walker Cup, Palmer Cup, Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup and the US have won all four times. At Valhalla he went 2-0-1.

Kuchar seemed the safest pick given his flexibility and reliability, this will be his fourth straight appearance and the first time he has needed a captain’s pick.

Captain Love said: “Rickie Fowler is so excited to be on the team again. We found no weaknesses in his game, he’s such a great team-mate and is really confident on the big stage.

“JB is so steady, he’s easy to pair, has a lot of experience and has been on a winning team in the Ryder Cup in the past. I’ve been on a lot of teams with Matt. He has a great attitude for matchplay, makes a great partner and like JB is confident so easy to pair.”

Love explained that he spoke to various players already on the team after the final round of the BMW Championship, as well as his assistants, and it seems that while it wasn’t a straightforward choice it was a majority one.

“These three guys are who we really all wanted. We’re really confident in them and we’re excited to have our 11 players now,” Love added. “It was a tough decision and we had plenty of great choices, but I know this is the 11 we want today.”