Followed in the footsteps of his idol Seve Ballesteros with a maiden victory at the KLM Open in 2005, which helped him win the 2005 Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Award, emulating his two other Spanish golfing heroes, José María Olazábal and Sergio Garcia.

Has since gone on to win six further times on the European Tour, and enjoyed his best season to date in 2013 when he finished seventh in the Race to Dubai.

With his company GFC Golf and Business Consulting he promoted six European Tour events from 2006-11 (two Andalucian Opens, and four Madrid Masters), raising over seven million euro in prize money.

An accomplished tennis player, he started playing golf under the tutelage of his father at the age of five.

Proposed to his girlfriend Alicia after winning the 2006 BMW Asian Open – who he then married later that year.