Ignacio turned professional in 1988 and it took him seven European Tour Qualifying School attempts before making it onto the European Tour for the 1996 season, but once there he faced a dilemma which required a major decision. His 28th place Ranking from the School did not give him access to as many tournaments as he would have liked and in one blank week at the end of May he entered his first European Challenge Tour event of the year, the Club Med Open in Italy, and won it with excellent scores of 65, 68, 70, 68. "I then had to decide whether to keep playing on the Challenge Tour or to keep trying on the European Tour," said Ignacio. "I chose the Challenge Tour because I knew that if I could finish in the top 15 in the Rankings I would have a much better Ranking on the European Tour in 1997 and I would be able to play in lots more tournaments. It turned out to be a good decision for me". Ignacio, whose keen golfer father introduced him to the game when he was seven in their home city of Barcelona, turned professional at the age of 17 and won several tournaments for "aspirant" professionals before starting his long and eventually successful quest for a place on the European Tour.