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With Monday's victory at the 2005 PGA Championship, it is perhaps time the sports world finally cuts the best left-handed golfer on the planet some slack.

A little more than a year ago, Phil Mickleson removed one monkey from his back by winning his first ever major, doing so by taking top honors at the grand-daddy of all golf events, the Masters. With the win, Lefty rid himself of one of golf's ugliest nicknames, "The Best Player Never to Win a Major."

But six major golf tournaments later, fickle journalists had already begun matching Mickleson with Davis Love III. The title this time, "The Best Golfers to Win Just One Major." This moniker coming in spite of Mickelson being just a handful of shots from winning all four majors in 2004.

But in the world of what have you done lately, Mickelson's poor performances at this year's majors had the critics out in full force, especially after his strong opening to the current year. Seemingly always trailing the big three of Els, Singh and Woods, Lefty appeared ready to make a statement early in the 2005 golf season.

Mickelson won back-to-back weeks on the Tour before mid-February, taking first the FBR Open in Scottsdale, Arizona, then following it up with a victory at the famous Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California. In taking home the two titles, the lefthander completely dominated the tournaments and two different golf courses, shooting two rounds for the ages.

First at the TPC in Scottsdale, Arizona, Mickelson had a second round 60, 11 under par, on a very challenging golf course. Lefty used that round as a catalyst and cruised to a five stroke victory. The very next week, Lefty blistered the Spyglass layout at Pebble Beach with another round almost as good, shooting a ten under par 62. Mickelson took a seven stroke margin in to Sunday and once again cruised to victory, this time by a four shot margin.

Mickelson hit a lull before re-emerging when the tour made its Southeastern swing into Duluth, Georgia. Lefty would make a 20-foot birdie putt on the fourth playoff hole, also on a Monday, to win the BellSouth Classic over Rich Beem, Jose Maria Olazabal, Brant Jobe and Arjun Atwal. Mickelson's three wins all occurred prior to the season's first major, the Masters, set to be played the very next week.

But the defending Masters champion struggled in Augusta. Though Lefty still managed a tenth place finish, it was his two over par final round that caused him to slide down the leaderboard just as the tourney headed to the finish line, finishing a full nine shots behind Tiger Woods.

At the US Open, he stumbled through a second round 77 and would eventually finish twelve shots behind winner Michael Campbell. Mickelson followed that second major with another lack luster performance at the British. Whereas he finished 33rd at the US, Mickleson dropped even further back, finishing 60th, fifteen shots off the pace of Woods.

Mickelson's red hot start to 2005 had been long forgotten by the time the PGA rolled around. Instead, writers began equating Lefty with the tag that had been given to Love.
But at the PGA, the flop shot master put together a performance worthy of greatness. First, a three under par round of 67 on the opening day put him right in the title chase. Similar to the statements made at Pebble Beach and in Scottsdale, Mickelson cruised to a five under par 65 in his second round, moving him into first and establishing him as the front runner.

In true competitive fashion, Mickelson never faltered though the difficult course beat him up a bit. A third round 72 left him tied with the aforementioned Love on Saturday, but when Sunday's rain halted play he was back in front, one shot ahead of Steve Elkington and Thomas Bjorn.

A bogey on Monday dropped him back into a tie with Elk and Bjorn so he headed to the 18th hole knowing he need a birdie to win the tournament and avoid a playoff. Like he had done the previous April at Augusta, Lefty reached into his game for a special shot.

At the Masters, his long curling putt would propel him to victory. This time the master of the flop shot hit one of his specialties, chipping from the deep rough to give himself a tap in birdie putt for his second major championship.

Of course, the win was also Lefty's fourth of the season, tying him with Woods and Singh for most victories on the season. The win also propelled him to third on the money list and to third in the World Rankings, moving him ahead of the International star Els. Lefty was still several points behind Woods and Singh for the top honor but he clearly reestablished his presence in the game of golf with the victory.

And in winning the PGA Championship, he made a major statement, literally and figuratively, making it clear it was time to get rid of the backhanded compliments for Mickleson. With more than 25 Tour victories and now two majors, it is time to refer to him as one of golf's greats.

And without a doubt, currently the game's best left-handed player, if not its best ever.