U.S. Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III on Monday morning named Rickie Fowler, J.B. Holmes and Matt Kuchar as captain's picks for the American team set to take on Europe on Sept. 30-Oct. 2 at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska.
They join automatic qualifiers Dustin Johnson, Zach Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed, Brandt Snedeker, Jordan Spieth and Jimmy Walker.
The final member of the U.S. team will be named Sept. 25 after the conclusion of the Fed Ex Cup playoffs.
The U.S. has lost eight of the last 10 Ryder Cup matches, a biennial event dating to 1927. It coughed up a large Sunday morning lead at Medinah near Chicago in 2012 and, despite being heavy favorites, was soundly defeated two years later at Gleneagles in Scotland.
That led to an 11-member U.S. Ryder Cup task force designed to stop the bleeding. That group, along with the eight automatic selections, provided information and suggestions for the three captain's picks and will again in two weeks for the final selection.
Love has also said the U.S. hired an outside analytics firm for guidance.
"They've thrown back a bunch of stats that we never even thought of," Love said during a promotional video on PGA.com. "We're trying to use them to make better and more informed decisions."
