Sergio Garcia's road to becoming Ryder Cup's highest points scorer
By Keith Jackson at Le Golf National
Last Updated: 30/09/18 6:50pm
Sergio Garcia's final-day win over Rickie Fowler earned the Spaniard the title of leading points scorer in Ryder Cup history, taking him past Nick Faldo.
Garcia needed a captain's pick to have his shot at history in Paris, and he justified Thomas Bjorn's decision by returning three points from his four matches, taking his overall tally to 25-and-a-half points since his impressive debut 19 years ago.
Here's how Garcia compiled his record haul ...
1999 - Played 5 Won 3 Lost 1 Halved 1
What a baptism of fire for the raw 19-year-old, who remains the youngest player to compete in the Ryder Cup, thrown into the cauldron of Brookline and finding himself up against Tiger Woods in his opening match on Friday morning.
But Garcia's partnership with Jesper Parnevik was a revelation, the pair beating Woods and Tom Lehman in the morning foursomes before edging out Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk in the fourballs.
They won again on Saturday morning before halving a tight clash against Davis Love III and David Duval, but Garcia's unbeaten run came to an abrupt end amid fervent scenes on Sunday as Furyk cruised to a 4&3 win.
2002 - P5 W3 L2
Garcia found another inspirational partner in Lee Westwood, who had been struggling for form after the 2001 Ryder Cup was delayed by a year due to the terrorist atrocities in New York and Washington.
The pair gelled instantly at The Belfry and kicked off with a 4&3 thrashing of Duval and Love before disposing of Woods and Mark O'Meara in the foursomes.
They made it three out of three on Saturday morning before Woods finally got the better of the Spaniard at the third attempt alongside Love, and Garcia again had no luck in the singles as he lost a high-quality tussle against reigning PGA champion David Toms at the last.
2004 - P5 W4 L0 H1
The Garcia-Westwood partnership continued at Oakland Hills, where the Spaniard earned revenge over the two men who had beaten him in the singles - Furyk and Toms - as they powered to a 4&3 win.
Garcia was then paired with Luke Donald for the afternoon foursomes, with similar success, and they won again on Saturday afternoon after Garcia and Westwood had been held to a halved match by Jay Haas and Chris DiMarco.
With Europe 11-5 ahead going into the singles, victory was a mere formality and Garcia finally tasted victory on a Ryder Cup Sunday when he outclassed world No 2 Phil Mickelson, setting the tone for a record win for Bernhard Langer's men.
2006 - P5 W4 L1
Garcia's astonishing record in fourballs and foursomes reached new heights at the K Club, where he was a perfect 4-0 in partnership with Spanish mentor Jose Maria Olazabal (fourballs) and close friend Luke Donald (foursomes).
After an easy win against Toms and Brett Wetterich, Garcia once again got the better of Woods in a Ryder Cup as he and Donald beat the world No 1 and Furyk at the last, and the same pairings also beat Mickelson twice on Saturday.
But he again seemed to run into the form man in the singles as Stewart Cink holed a ridiculous number of long-range putts and ran out a convincing 4&3 winner, although it made no difference to the end result as Europe repeated their nine-point thrashing of 2004.
2008 - P4 W0 L1 H2
After Europe's rampant successes of the previous two Ryder Cups, with Garcia racking up eight-and-a-half points from a possible 10, the trip to Valhalla was a disaster for Nick Faldo and his side.
Europe's three talismen - double major winner Padraig Harrington, Lee Westwood and Garcia - failed to win a match between them, and Garcia also missed his first session in his fifth Ryder Cup when he was left out of the Saturday morning foursomes.
Garcia did manage two halves alongside Westwood and Paul Casey, but he suffered a heavy defeat with Miguel Angel Jimenez on Friday afternoon and endured more singles disappointment when he was hammered 5&4 by an inspired Anthony Kim in the top match.
2012 - P4 W2 L2
Garcia had his first taste of being on the backroom team as one of Colin Montgomerie's vice-captains as Europe regained the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor in 2010, although it was sad to see him on the sidelines following a dramatic slump in form.
But he returned to the team two years later and played his part in one of the most dramatic contests in the history of the competition, although he did not enjoy the best of starts as he suffered two foursomes defeats with Donald and Nicolas Colsaerts.
However, he got his first point of the week as he partnered Donald to yet another fourballs win over Woods at that crucial Saturday afternoon session, and he was one of eight European winners in the singles as he pipped Furyk on the final hole.
Garcia's win took Europe ahead in the contest for the first time in the week, and Martin Kaymer and Francesco Molinari completed the outstanding comeback to ensure Olazabal's men would leave with the trophy.
2014 - P4 W2 L1 H1
Garcia's incredible winning success in the Ryder Cup continued at Gleneagles, where he was celebrating on the podium on Sunday evening for the fifth time in his seven appearances.
Paul McGinley's astute leadership was a huge factor in another big European win, and his decision to pair Garcia with Rory McIlroy paid off, although they were beaten on Friday morning by Keegan Bradley and Mickelson.
But they bounced back to snatch a battling half with Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker in the afternoon foursomes, and the same pair crushed Furyk and Hunter Mahan in a dominant Saturday afternoon session for the hosts.
And Furyk fell victim to Garcia yet again in Sunday's singles, the Spaniard repeating his one-up win from Medinah shortly after Jamie Donaldson had already secured victory for McGinley's side.
2016 - P5 W1 L2 H2
Garcia enjoyed another exciting new partnership, this time with rookie Rafa Cabrera Bello, but his two matches with Kaymer did not go to plan as Team USA regained the Ryder Cup at Hazeltine.
After a foursomes defeat in the home whitewash on Friday morning, Garcia rebounded with his compatriot to score a 3&2 fourballs win over JB Holmes and Ryan Moore.
The Spaniards snatched a thrilling half point with a superb comeback against Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth on day two, but Garcia was then reunited with Kaymer for the fourballs and they were unable to keep pace with Mickelson and Matt Kuchar.
But with Europe sliding to defeat on Sunday, Garcia and Mickelson fought out one of the most astonishing singles clashes in Ryder Cup history - the rivals making no fewer than 19 birdies between them in a match that, fittingly, ended in a half.
2018 - P4 W3 L1
For the first time, Garcia needed a captain's pick to make the European team, and he justified Bjorn's bold call with another superb performance at Le Golf National.
Garcia arrived in Paris with the same number of points (22.5) and the same winning percentage (60.81) as the late, great Seve Ballesteros, and needing just two-and-a-half points to match Europe's leading scorer - Sir Nick Faldo.
He sat out the first session and then combined with Alex Noren for an impressive 5&4 win over Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau, and he was reunited with McIlroy for a Saturday morning foursomes win in the top match against Brooks Koepka and Tony Finau.
The 38-year-old then won the first two holes of his singles against Fowler and held on throughout, clinching a historic 2&1 win, although he just missed out on earning the overall winning point as he was pipped by Molinari.
