Colin Montgomerie believes Rory McIlroy needs to continue to make the most of the par-fives and cut out the mistakes in his game after a steady start to the Masters.
The world No 3 bogeyed the last hole to close a two-under 70 and sit four shots adrift of early pacesetter Jordan Spieth, with the four-time major champion having the most success on Augusta's longer holes.
McIlroy carded an eagle and two birdies when tackling the par-fives on Thursday, which Montgomerie feels keeps the Northern Irishman in contention.
"He has played them in his four under which he had to do and that has kept him in it," Montgomerie told Sky Sports. "He is driving the ball magnificently and he'll be very disappointed with his finish after the driving the ball so brilliantly.
"He has done what he has to do and he has to keep doing that over the next three days. He has to keep birdieing these par-fives. If he does that, then he has a chance.
"The rest of the course he played in two over, which isn't that great, but those par-fives have kept him in the top 10.
"There were four dropped shots from Rory, which is four too many for someone as good as Rory. He has got to cut out the unforced errors like at 18 if he is to beat Jordan Spieth."
Click on the video above to hear more of Colin Montgomerie's analysis.