Out then in: Bubba Watson added to US team as vice captain after being passed over to play by Davis Love III

Bubba Watson will be at the Ryder Cup, even if it’s not exactly the way he imagined it.

US captain Davis Love III announced on Monday that Watson has been added to the team as a fifth vice captain. The two-time Masters champion and 7th-ranked player in the world competed as a player on the last three US squads, and said at the start of the year that his goals were to play in both the Olympics and the Ryder Cup.

Watson finished tied for eighth at the Rio Games, but he wound up just outside of the eighth and last automatic qualifying spot as a Ryder Cup player. He then began lobbying behind the scenes for one of the four captain’s picks at Love’s discretion.

Watson was described as “heartbroken” after the first three picks went to J.B. Holmes, Rickie Fowler and Matt Kuchar. But he also made it a point to let Love know he “still wanted to be part of the team,” even if it meant as a non-playing assistant.

That appeared to count for little after Love used his final pick to add Ryan Moore just hours after he lost the Tour Championship to Rory McIlroy in a play-off on Sunday. But the US captain said he remained impressed by Watson’s unselfish gesture and decided to add him the following day.