After carding two 73s to start his week, McIlroy shot a 71 in the third round to take him just outside the top ten heading into the final 18 holes.
It’s something he has achieved six times at Augusta in the past and he’s eyeing up another strong finish to add to his collection.
“I played well, it’s just hard to go very low out there,” the 32-year-old said.
“Anything under par is a good score. There’s no easy birdies. Even the par fives; usually they’re sort of, not guaranteed fours, but you feel like they’re holes that you would likely pick shots up on.
“The way the wind’s blowing, sometimes five is a good score and you just move on.
“It’s been a tough couple of days and I’ve just sort of hung in there as best as I could. It’s not really conditions favourable for going low and trying to get close to the leaders. So it’s just sort of hanging in there and doing the best that you can.”
With Scottie Scheffler continuing what looks like a relentless march to the Green Jacket, McIlroy is potentially going to be ten shots behind the leader going into the final round, despite being well up the leaderboard himself.
It’s not a course that usually lends itself to chasing a score and the Northern Irishman will stay be as patient as he can on Sunday.
“Yeah, you’re just trying to go out and shoot the best score that you possibly can without being reckless and without taking on too much risk,” McIlroy added.
“I’ll try to go out and do that tomorrow. I think I moved up a few places with that score today and just try to move up a few more tomorrow and try to get a top 10 and move on.”