Julieta Granada, who seemed destined for LPGA stardom with a great rookie season several years ago, was among 30 golfers who earned Ladies European Tour membership Thursday at the conclusion of the LET Final Stage Qualifying Tournament.

Granada's rookie season on the LPGA was 2006. She posted seven Top 10s that year, culminating in a win at the ADT Championship for its million-dollar prize. That lump sump pushed her to fourth on the money list and a rookie record for earnings.

In 2007, Granada's scoring average rose by a stroke and a half, her Top 10s dropped to only three, and her money list ranking fell to 33rd.

Then the bottom fell out in 2008. Granada missed the cut in more than half the LPGA tournaments she played. She had no Top 10s and fell to 100th on the money list.

Granada can play as much as she wants on the LPGA in 2009, but if she's struggling still, then going to the LET is now an option. She would (presumably) fare much better on the weaker LET, perhaps regaining some confidence, and might feel more free to work on changes in her game in the European setting. How much she plays in America or Europe probably depends on how well - or poorly - Granada plays in some early LPGA events.

Granada finished 10th in the LET's Q-School final. The winner was 6-foot Swede Anna Nordqvist, who immediately stated her intention to win a spot on the European Solheim Cup team this year. And don't discount the possibility. Nordqvist is an impact player. She should run away with the LET Rookie of the Year award and may well be a factor at the LPGA's Evian and Women's British Open. Expect to see her on the LPGA in 2010.

On the Web:

• LET Q-School final scores

See also:

• Julieta Granada photos

Now two of the world's best golfers are out of action after knee surgery. But unlike Tiger Woods - who has missed a significant chunk of time - Vijay Singh should be idle only a few weeks.

Singh underwent arthroscopic surgery this week on his right knee. The surgery was done to repair torn cartilege in the knee. Singh will be on crutches for a few days, then be able to start working back into shape.

Singh said he expects to miss the next three weeks, and that he hopes to return at the AT&T; Pebble Beach National Pro-Am that begins on Feb. 9.

Perhaps you've heard of the drivers that go by the name "No Bananas." They are made by a relatively little-known company called Bob Burns Golf. They promise slice reduction through the implementation of a severely closed face. They carry the image of a gorilla on their soles.

Sound gimmicky? Are you skeptical? Well, so was our reviewer, until he actually tried a Bob Burns No Bananas 460cc driver. Read the review.

Lorens Chan won a qualifier several weeks back and on Thursday he'll tee off in the PGA Tour Sony Open. What's notable about that? Chan is not yet 15 years old.

It's true that another 14-year-old - Michelle Wie - has played in the Sony Open before. In fact, Wie is the youngest golfer ever to play in a PGA Tour event.

But Wie got into the tournament on a sponsor exemption. Chan played his way in.

Chan, a freshman at Iolani School in Honolulu, was one of 12 local amateurs chosen to compete in an 18-hole qualifying tournament on Dec. 29. The 12 were chosen for the qualifier on the basis of points standings in the Governor's Cup, a yearlong points race of local amateur tournaments.

Chan then shot 5-under 67 at Waialae, got into a playoff against two others, and won on the first extra hole. At age 14 years, 7 months, Chan had earned a spot in a PGA Tour event.

What might we expect from Chan this week? Probably not much. He is, after all, a freshman in high school, and he looks like a freshman - 5-foot-7, 130-something pounds, babyfaced. The 67 he posted in the qualifier was his career low.

But Chan is the second-ranked junior golfer in the U.S. in his high school class. And earlier in 2008, he was low amateur - and finished fourth overall - at the Hawaii State Open.

He's clearly a great junior golfer, and Waialae is his home course. As Fujikawa showed two years, you never know. The important thing for Chan is to learn as much as he can, and have as much fun as he can. If he happens to throw another 67 on the scoreboard, all the better.