Sergio Garcia secured his fifth Ryder Cup victory. Reuters

Sergio Garcia has claimed he cannot be happier for winning the Ryder Cup but admitted he had a difficult start to the tournament because he felt he was playing far from his best.

Europe won the Ryder Cup in Gleneagles for the third consecutive time, beating the United States team 16.5 to 11.5.

The Spaniard couldn't hide his excitement after the victory on Sunday 28 September after securing his fifth Ryder Cup win from seven tournaments.

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"I do not usually get emotional easily but this time I could not hold it in. The Ryder Cup is a very special tournament. This week is my favourite and I'm lucky to be here, live it and be part of it. I can not be happier," the Spaniard said, according to his official website.

Although Garcia ended the tournament with 2.5 points and a good performance against Jim Furyk, he revealed he didn't feel confortable at the start of the tournament.

"My golf did not feel well and I felt I was failing my teammates because my game was not up to what I had done this year. Fortunately today I played better and above all we won, which is most important," Garcia said.

Meanwhile, speaking about captain Paul McGinley, he said: "We have been fortunate in having great captains for Europe in recent years and Paul is one of them."

"He has also introduced some different valuable concepts, he has been a captain with more up-to-date methods. It has been a pleasure and an honour to compete by his side.

"He has always been close to the players. For example, he let me know how important it was to him that I was in the team and that meant a lot to me. In fact, I think it helped me to have such a good year."

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