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There were not many surprises on Monday morning as Davis Love III made his first three (of four total) captain's picks for the 2016 United States Ryder Cup team.

Love took Rickie Fowler (No. 9 in the world), Matt Kuchar (No. 17) and J.B. Holmes (No. 21) to join the eight automatic qualifiers.

Love will make one final selection after the Tour Championship in two weeks.

These three players join a group that includes Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Zach Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed, Jimmy Walker and Brandt Snedeker. It is Kuchar's fourth appearance on the team, Fowler's third and Holmes' second.

I expected these three players to be chosen by Love, even though Fowler missed out finishing in the top 30 and playing in the Tour Championship because of his performance in the BMW Championship last week. Love was always going to take golfers he trusted in lieu of potentially more talented golfers, and he certainly trusts Kuchar, Holmes and Fowler.

"[Rickie Fowler is] so excited to be on the team again," said Love. "We found no weaknesses in his game. He's such a great teammate. He's really confident on the big stage as we've seen in the Olympics, but like in Dubai, he plays well all over the world; he travels well, brings a lot of intangibles to our team. Going to make a great teammate to guys that we already have on the team."

Fowler's career Ryder Cup record is 0-4-4. He has never won a Ryder Cup match outright. He has also never played in one stateside. His first one was back in 2010, and his only other one came two years ago at Gleneagles.

"The Ryder Cup is a whole different animal, and I'm looking forward to that opportunity," said Fowler. "Having the two overseas, it's going to be pretty amazing getting to play in front of a home crowd. It will be a completely different feeling for sure."

The other two have won in the past though. Holmes is 2-0-1 in his only appearance back in 2008, which coincides with the last time the U.S. team won. Kuchar is 4-5-2 in his career.

"J.B., he's so steady, he's easy to pair," added Love. "Got a lot of experience. He's consistent and he's been on a winning Ryder Cup Team before in the past. And then Matt Kuchar, you know, I've been on a lot of teams with Matt. He's great, great attitude for match play. He's a great partner. Like J.B., he's consistent. He's easy to pair. These three guys are who we really all wanted. We're very confident in them."

What will be interesting now is to see what Love does with that final pick. It seems as if Jim Furyk, who also missed the Tour Championship, will be left out.

Will it go to a young player like Daniel Berger or Justin Thomas? Or a veteran grinder like Kevin Na or Ryan Moore? Will Bubba Watson snag it? Who knows. It would be pretty crazy if a top-10 player (Watson in No. 7 in the Official World Golf Rankings currently) did not make the team.

Based on Love's first three captain's picks, I have to think it will be a traditional selection like Watson, but I would love to see Berger or Thomas tee it up against Sergio Garcia or Rory McIlroy in a singles match. Heck, I would have loved to have seen both of those guys over Holmes or Kuchar. Not because I don't like Holmes and Kuchar, but the Ryder Cup has clearly turned into a young man's event.

"This is a tough decision," said Love. "There were many great choices. I know this is the 11 we want today, and we have another tough decision coming up in two weeks ... I'd say the players that are playing in the Tour Championship need to try to win the Tour Championship and not think about Ryder Cup points."

So now 23 of the 24 players for the Ryder Cup are set. The U.S. has 11 of 12, and the European Team has all 12. One more to go before Hazeltine gets going. I cannot wait. Neither can Fowler.

"I would say that I'm probably more excited about this Ryder Cup than the past ones," said Fowler. "Being a part of that task force and being with the guys in meetings and getting to see the excitement level and how much The Ryder Cup means to some other players like Tiger and Phil and Davis. When [Davis] ultimately got the pick to be the captain, it was special. It made me appreciate The Ryder Cup even more.

"Not that that was very possible; I mean, The Ryder Cup has always been the biggest thing and one of the main goals to always be a part of the team. It was a team that I didn't want to miss out on by any means, and I wish I would have been able to make it on points. Didn't want to have to be a pick. But like Kuch said, this is a team we want to be a part of, having Davis lead us. And like I said, this is the one I've been most excited for."