Masters is not just a tournament, it’s so much more. Rory McIlroy, in his career of 15 years, has not won the Masters. He came close in 2011, he was leading coming in on Sunday. But he ended up shooting 37 on the front to hold onto the lead, but made triple bogey on 10 and a four-putt double bogey on 12 to quickly fade with a final round 80, finishing tied at 15th. But this year, he’s heading to Augusta, in less than two weeks, having won two titles on the Tour. So, yeah, he’s in great form. But that does not mean he doesn’t have areas to improve.

You see, Day 2 at the Memorial Park Golf Course was a crucial one for Rory McIlroy. The Northern Irish golfer was loitering at 1 under par for the event, after carding two birdies and a bogey throughout the day. The projected cutline was at 2 under par, and with four more holes to go, McIlroy wasn’t going to make it. Then, McIlroy hit his stride. He scored three consecutive birdies to vault himself over the cutline. He followed that up with another brilliant performance in Round 3, scoring 3 birdies and finishing with an eagle at the second-last hole.

Speaking to the press after an impressive round 3, Rory McIlroy laid bare the facts surrounding his current game and how he wants it to change. “I wanted to see myself drive it a little bit better, which I haven’t really seen. It’s hard here because, you know, it’s so wide that it entices you to just stand up and try to hit it as hard as you can, so accuracy isn’t a premium at all this week,” stated the World No. 2.

His driving accuracy has been ranked 40th in the field with only 53.85% strokes off the tee, going where intended. His strokes gained off the Tee have only been on the lower side, where he is ranked 22nd. Compared to his victory at Pebble Beach, McIlroy’s numbers seem like they are two different golfers. At the AT&T Pro-Am, the Northern Irish golfer was ranked first in strokes gained off the tee and 19th in Driving Accuracy with 67.86%.

He added, “Then I guess like short game-wise, like chipping, I wanted that to be a little better. I felt I was a little tentative with some chips at Sawgrass, but chipping’s been really good this week. I scrambled well, so that’s been good to see. Still feel like I need to do a little bit of work off the tee and sort of get the driver figured out.”

His game around the greens has been good. With 1.943 strokes gained around the green, McIlroy is ranked 13th. It has been the best facet of his game. Even over putting, which has been his strong suit in both his wins this season. Min Woo Lee, who currently leads the event, is 1st in strokes gained from putting, while McIlroy has struggled in that department, having been ranked 43rd.

The crucial Sunday ahead for Rory McIlroy

Currently ranked T14 and a whopping 8 strokes off the lead, McIlroy will have to focus on taking it one shot at a time. The momentum is on his side, after a brilliant round 3, but the field ranked better than him is no slouch either.

He will have his eye on Argentine golfer Alejandro Tosti, who is 13 under par and ranked second on the leaderboard. Scottie Scheffler, who is one stroke behind Tosti, will also be eyeing to move up the standings and put pressure on solo leader Min Woo Lee. The 70-par Memorial Park Golf Course does not offer much leeway for mistakes, so McIlroy needs to be at his best on Sunday.

He will need to improve his drive and putting to challenge the lone Australian at the top. Do you think it is possible for a tricky course like this? Can McIlroy do the unthinkable and claim victory after loitering around the cutline just a day ago?