Golf - 2018 Ryder Cup at Le Golf National - Guyancourt, France - September 30, 2018 - Team Europe's Sergio Garcia celebrates after winning the Ryder Cup REUTERS/Regis Duvignau

PARIS (Reuters) - Spaniard Sergio Garcia set a record when his victory in his Ryder Cup singles match on Sunday gave him more points than any other player in the history of the competition.

In beating American Rickie Fowler 2&1, Garcia collected his 25th-and-a-half point for Europe in the biennial team event, taking him half a point above England’s Nick Faldo.

“To be part of the European team, all of them, it’s something you can’t describe,” Garcia said, deflecting any personal credit in favor of the team ethos.

“There’s not enough money to buy it, the feeling we have with each other, how well we connect with each other.

“There’s no other week when you open up your chest to guys you are playing against week in and week out. I love everything about (the Ryder Cup).”

In winning three of his four matches at Le Golf National, Garcia improved his career record to 22 wins, 12 losses and seven halves in his 41 matches.

Garcia, 38, has played in nine Ryder Cups stretching back to 1999, but he had to rely on a captain’s pick this year after failing to qualify for the team automatically.

He has had a mediocre year by his own high standards but, as has so often been the case, rose to the Ryder Cup occasion to more than justify captain Thomas Bjorn’s faith in him.

The Ryder Cup had defined Garcia’s career until he finally broke through and won a major at the 2017 U.S. Masters.