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Masters scenes — 2007 Top images from Augusta National

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NO-FACTOR PHIL: Phil Mickelson didn’t bother waiting until the last hole for this Sunday meltdown at a major.

Never much of a factor this week, the defending Masters champion ended any chance he had of winning with a triple bogey on the par-4 No. 1 on Sunday.

“I didn’t feel I played that well. Certainly not as well as I wanted,” Mickelson said after shooting a 5-over 77 that left him tied for 24th. “It wasn’t my day, but it sure turned out to be an exciting Masters with a lot of guys in it, eagles on the back nine, birdies.

“I just wasn’t one of them.”

Mickelson arrived at Augusta brimming with confidence. He’d already won once this year, at Pebble Beach, and thought he’d figured out the driving woes that led to his 72nd-hole collapse at the U.S. Open last year.

He’d won two of the last three Masters, and was considered the guy to beat along with Tiger Woods.

But he found himself flirting with the cut line Thursday after playing his first seven holes at 5 over. He grinded his way back into the tournament and was still optimistic Saturday, saying he knew the winner would end up over par.

He was right about that. But his only role in Butler Cabin late Sunday afternoon was to put the jacket on winner Zach Johnson.

Mickelson finished tied with Geoff Ogilvy, who won the U.S. Open after Lefty fell apart.

“I’m certainly thinking ahead about the U.S. Open,” Mickelson said. “I’d like nothing more than to come back after last year’s loss and come back with a victory there.”

DIVOTS: The par-4 11th was the hardest hole this week, averaging 4.509 strokes, followed by No. 1 at 4.474 stroke. The easiest to play was the par-5 No. 8, which averaged 4.766 strokes.