US Ryder Cup captain Davis Love selects Ryan Moore as his final wildcard
By Keith Jackson at Hazeltine
Last Updated: 26/09/16 9:19am
Ryan Moore has been named as the fourth and final wildcard for the US Ryder Cup team.
American captain Davis Love III opted for the in-form Moore over the likes of Bubba Watson, Justin Thomas and Daniel Berger as he finalised his side for Hazeltine National this week.
Moore propelled himself into the reckoning with a superb performance at the Tour Championship in Atlanta, where he lost out to Rory McIlroy at the fourth hole of a sudden-death play-off.
He had closed with a superb 64 to finish tied at the top with McIlroy and Kevin Chappell on 12 under par, but McIlroy's birdie on the 16th was enough to seal his second win in three starts as well as his first FedExCup title.
However, Moore's consolation arrived just three hours afterwards as he was added to Love's team despite turning down an invitation to practice at Hazeltine on Monday.
Love had already chosen Rickie Fowler, JB Holmes and Matt Kuchar as his first three captain's picks, and his decision to pick Moore with his fourth means that Watson is a surprising omission from this week's contest.
"Ryan fits so well with what we have in place," Love said. "He's an easy-going, thoughtful guy, but don't be fooled, Ryan's a great match-play player with an incredible match-play record.
"He has guts and determination and everyone saw that [on Sunday]. We re thrilled to have him with us."
Moore has enjoyed an excellent season on the PGA Tour and has not missed a cut since mid May while capturing his fifth career victory at the John Deere Classic last month.
The 33-year-old, who will be making his Ryder Cup debut this week, continued his fine form in the FedExCup Play-Offs as he finished seventh and eighth at The Barclays and the Deutsche Bank Championship before his near-miss at the season finale.
Love was able to save a pick until the last possible moment to avoid a repeat of 2014, when Tom Watson had already named his wildcards for Gleneagles before Billy Horschel won the BMW Champonship and the Tour Championship to snatch the FedExCup title.