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Naples resident Rocco Mediate wasn’t one of Paul Azinger’s four captain’s picks for the U.S. Ryder Cup team on Tuesday.

Mediate, 45, had vaulted into contention after his runner-up finish at the U.S. Open, where he lost on the first hole of sudden death to Tiger Woods after the two were tied following an 18-hole playoff.

“There’s no question that Rocco would’ve been a tremendous asset to the team, and I could name several players that would have been a tremendous asset for the team,” Azinger said. “It was really difficult for me not to pick Rocco Mediate.”

Azinger selected Steve Stricker, Hunter Mahan, J.B. Holmes and Chad Campbell. The Ryder Cup will be played at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky., from Sept. 19-21.

Azinger said he would not get into discussing why other players were not picked.

Mediate could not be reached for comment.

The eight automatic selections were Phil Mickelson, Stewart Cink, Kenny Perry, Jim Furyk, Anthony Kim, Justin Leonard, Ben Curtis and Boo Weekley.

Azinger said he only called one player Tuesday morning to let him know he was not selected.

“I only called one player this morning to let him know that I wasn’t picking him,” Azinger said. “He was very disappointed, but understood. It doesn’t matter who it was. I’m not going to tell anybody who it was.”

Mediate, a Calusa Pines Golf Club member who has never made the Ryder Cup team or won a major championship, played well after the Open, but faded the past month, starting with a final-round 85 in the PGA Championship that left him next to last after making the cut.

The top eight in the Ryder Cup points standings after the PGA automatically made the team, and Azinger, as he had indicated after taking over as captain, said he would pick the final four members of the team on Sept. 2, following the Deutsche Bank Championship.

That left Mediate with three events, after he did not finish in the top eight on the points list. He withdrew from the Wyndham Championship to spend time with family, then Mediate shot a second-round 77 and missed the cut at The Barclays, the first FedEx Cup playoff event. He tied for 69th in the Deutsche Bank on Monday.

Even though Mediate has not played well, some speculated he could be one of Azinger’s selections because his popularity with fans, which was heightened by his U.S. Open performance. Plus, none of the other contenders for a spot had played that well.

“I think that we have rounded off this team with the best possible players at this time,” Azinger said.

Stricker was atop Azinger’s list all along, the No. 8 player in the world ranking and among the best putters in golf who would have qualified for the team if the points counted over the last two weeks.

Azinger also favored Holmes, a big basher off the tee who is sure to get local support.

Mahan caught Azinger’s eye with a 62 in the first round of The Barclays.

The final choice was between Campbell and Scott Verplank, who was 33rd in the standings but is a rarity among Americans with a winning record this decade — he is 4-1 in his two Ryder Cups, beating Lee Westwood and Padraig Harrington in singles, while playing on teams beaten by a combined 12 points.

Also bypassed were Woody Austin, who finished at No. 10 in the standings except that only the top eight earned spots this year; Tampa winner Sean O’Hair, Bob Hope Classic winner D.J. Trahan and Brandt Snedeker.

“It’s hard for me to justify why the guys didn’t make the team,” Azinger said. “I can just tell you why I picked the guys that I did pick. There’s a lot of guys that deserve to be on this team, and there’s a lot of guys that were really close to making it.”

The United States has not won the Ryder Cup since 1999, when Leonard holed a 45-foot birdie putt at Brookline to complete the biggest comeback in history. Europe has won the Cup eight of the last 11 times.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.