Rory McIlroy headed straight to the practice range to iron out his problems after surrendering a six-shot lead to leave the defence of his Masters title in the balance.
The Northern Irishman had looked poised to blow the field away 24 hours earlier, after opening up a significant advantage with the biggest 36-hole lead in the tournament's history.
While all of his rivals were going under par - the nine players immediately below him all shot sub-70 rounds - the world number two could only record a one-over 71 having come unstuck at Amen Corner.
The troubles off the tee, which he has been successfully managing all week, cost him dearly and he faces a final-group pairing with Cameron Young. Young shot a Masters-best 65 to join the Holywood star at the top of the leaderboard on 11 under.
"I mean, the course was obviously gettable, there was a lot of good scores out there, and the quality of the chasing pack is obvious," McIlroy told RTÉ Sport's Greg Allen.
"There was a lot of good scores out there and the quality of the chasing pack is obvious, you know, there was a lot of guys that shot good scores.
"This golf course has a way of, you know, when you're not quite feeling it, you struggle and you have to dig deep and I felt like I did that on the front nine and made a lot of good par saves.
"It would have been nice to play those last few holes and not make that bogey on 17 but, you know, I still have a great chance.
"I'm in the final group and I just need to go to the range and try to figure it out a little bit."
McIlroy entered Augusta National's famously tricky Amen Corner stretch at 13 under, three ahead but clinging on.
He exited it one behind Young after playing it double bogey-bogey-par having pulled a seven iron into the water at the 11th, missing the green at the next and driving into the trees at the 13th.
"I have to look at the positives even though there isn't that many to take today but I did bounce back," he added.
Meanwhile Shane Lowry, just two shots off the joint leaders, is feeling good.
The Offaly man's 69 - which included a hole-in-one at the sixth - hoisted him into contention. Lowry also recorded an ace at the tournament at the 16th in 2016.
"I'm in a good place," he said. "Look, there's no doubt, I felt a bit nervy down the back nine there, but you're going to feel like that. I felt pretty controlled and calm most of the day, felt like I was hitting really good shots. Obviously, a huge highlight of my day was the sixth hole, but I think even after that, I felt like I did a good job.
"I'm pretty happy with how it all went. How could you not be happy? You're out there playing the Masters with one of your best friends, making a hole-in-one, contending in a tournament. What's not to be happy about?
"All in all, it was a good, solid round of golf and when I got out of position, I think I did a good job. Seven behind at the start of the day, I'd have taken your hand off for this position."
