United States captain Davis Love III focused on "what fits best for our team" in naming Rickie Fowler, JB Holmes and Matt Kuchar as three of his four wildcard picks for this month's Ryder Cup against Europe.
Love, who notably overlooked world No.7 Bubba Watson on Monday, will announce his final selection on September 25, after the PGA Tour's season-ending Tour Championship finishes in Atlanta, to round out his 12-man team.
"These three guys are who we really all wanted," Love said.
"We are very confident in them and we are excited that we have our 11 players now and we can move on. This was a tough decision.
"There were many great choices ... and we have another tough decision coming up in two weeks."
World No.9 Fowler, 27, a triple winner on the PGA Tour, was a member of the 2010 and 2014 teams and has always been a popular figure among his peers.
Holmes, 34, known for his prodigious length off the tee, has made just one previous appearance for his country in the Ryder Cup, in 2008 when the US last tasted victory over Europe.
Kuchar, 38, is renowned for his consistency from tee to green, has an uncanny ability to grind out top-10 finishes and has featured in the past three Ryder Cups.
"Rickie, he is so excited to be on the team again," said Love.
"We found no weaknesses in his game, and he's such a great teammate. He's really confident on the big stages ... he brings a lot of intangibles to our team.
"JB, he's so steady. He's easy to pick, got a lot of experience. He's consistent and he's been on a winning Ryder Cup team before.
"And then Matt Kuchar. I've been on a lot of teams with Matt. He's great, got a great attitude for matchplay, he's a great partner. Like JB, he's consistent. He's easy to pair."
Watson, a double Masters champion, was the most notable omission having missed out on an automatic spot on the US team by just one spot last month.
The eight automatic qualifiers on the US team are: US Open champion Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed, PGA Championship winner Jimmy Walker, Brooks Koepka, Brandt Snedeker and Zach Johnson.
The US will bid to end a dominant run by the Europeans, who have won three consecutive Ryder Cups and eight of the last 10, when the three-day competition starts on September 30 at Hazeltine National.
