There was definitely some surprise to Davis Love III's selection of Ryan Moore as the 12th and final golfer for the United States Ryder Cup squad.

"Ryan fits so well with what we have in place," said Love. "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 today. We are thrilled to have him with us."

Moore, who finished a close second to Rory McIlroy in the 2016 Tour Championship earlier Sunday following a four-hole playoff, was the fourth of four captain's picks made by Love. The other three were Rickie Fowler, Matt Kuchar and J.B. Holmes.

Those four join Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Brandt Snedeker, Jimmy Walker, Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Zach Johnson and Patrick Reed to make up the U.S. side.

Despite the pedigree and high ranking of Bubba Watson -- and late pushes from golfers like Justin Thomas, Kevin Chappell and even Tiger Woods -- Love took Moore because of his tenacity and quality of play as of late. Along with the second-place finish at the Tour Championship, Moore had two top-10 finishes at the first two rounds of the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

Against McIlroy in the playoff at East Lake on Sunday afternoon, Moore made his case with some gutsy play in what was essentially match-play format. Three times Moore buried putts ahead of McIlroy in the playoff to force the Ulsterman to answer with his putter.

Along with his current form, Moore also has a pedigree of being a strong match play competitor. He was an extremely decorated amateur in match play competitions, winning the 2004 U.S. Amateur, 2002 and 2004 U.S. Public Links Amateurs, the 2004 Western Amateur and the 2004 NCAA individual championship.

Moore's selection shows that Love III wanted to use the final selection to reward the hot hand going into the Ryder Cup, which was the entire reason for moving the final selection to after the Tour Championship. Moore has been playing fantastic golf of late and has simply been better in the last month of the season than the other competitors for that 12th and final spot.

Here is how the full 12-man U.S. Ryder Cup team has fared in Ryder Cup competition in the past:

PlayerRyder Cup Record
Dustin Johnson4-3-0
Jordan Spieth2-1-1
Brandt Snedeker1-2-0
Jimmy Walker1-1-3
Patrick Reed3-1-0
Phil Mickelson16-19-7
Brooks Koepka0-0-0
Zach Johnson6-6-2
Rickie Fowler0-4-4
Matt Kuchar4-5-2
J.B. Holmes2-0-2
Ryan Moore0-0-0