Ryder Cup: Sergio Garcia becomes Europe's record points scorer
By Ali Stafford at Le Golf National
Last Updated: 01/10/18 12:01am
Sergio Garcia became Europe's all-time record Ryder Cup points scorer after defeating Rickie Fowler in the Sunday singles at Le Golf National.
Garcia, a controversial wildcard pick by captain Thomas Bjorn after missing the cut in all four majors and struggling for form in 2018, justified his selection with three victories from his four matches.
The Spaniard claimed a 5&4 win alongside Alex Noren in the Friday foursomes and partnered Rory McIlroy in a 2&1 victory in the Saturday fourballs, taking him to 24.5 points and within a half-point from Sir Nick Faldo's all-time record.
Garcia overtook Faldo and moved to 25.5 points after despatching Fowler 2&1 in the singles, leading his match throughout as Team Europe stormed to a 17.5-10.5 victory.
"It's something that I never thought I would have the possibility of doing," Garcia told Sky Sports after his win. "Now that it's happened I'm just so happy.
"It means a lot but at the end of the day, I've always said it, it's about the team. I'm happy that I was able to help with some of the points.
"I'm obviously so thankful for Thomas [Bjorn] to pick me and believe in me. I'm so happy to get the cup back here in Paris and in Europe and for everyone to enjoy it as much as they did."
Garcia birdied his opening hole and doubled his advantage when Fowler bogeyed the second, with the 2017 Masters champion remaining two ahead with two holes to play.
After missing the green with his approach into the par-four 17th, Garcia pitched it to kick-in range, which was enough for the historic victory when Fowler failed to find the 30-foot birdie needed to take contest to the last.
Click on the video at the top of the page to see Garcia's history-making moment!