OAKMONT, Pa. – Rory McIlroy’s fate wouldn’t officially be decided until he walked another 498 yards toward the Oakmont Country Club clubhouse, but for all intents and purposes, he stood over the shot that would either secure two more brutal yet gratifying U.S. Open rounds or miss the cut in back to back events for the first time since 2012.

The 18th tee box at Oakmont is a pressure-packed environment on Sunday, but also late on a Friday when an errant drive may almost certainly cost you your weekend. McIlroy stood there needing par. And, as it goes at Oakmont, he needed to hit a fairway first to make that possible.

McIlroy had done admirably just to give himself this opportunity, playing his last 14 holes in 1-under after making two double bogeys in his first three holes. Those five hours of grind now rested on the fate of McIlroy’s new driver head. McIlroy loaded up on his right side, then unleashed a towering drive that started left of the fairway and gently curved into friendly territory, 373 yards away.

It was the defining moment in an emotional grind of a day that saw McIlroy apathetic, angry and finally relieved. The drive was the longest of the day on the closing hole and the embodiment of what McIlroy can be when he’s firing. He didn’t show it much through two rounds of the U.S. Open, but at least he’ll have two more cracks at finding it. McIlroy strutted down the fairway, stuck his approach to 5 feet, and made the birdie putt for good measure to secure a weekend tee time with a shot to spare. At 6-over after rounds of 74-72, McIlroy is nine back of the lead.

There were plenty of moments when a weekend tee time was in doubt. McIlroy made a mess of his opening hole, pulling his drive into a fairway bunker and failing to get it back out onto the fairway. That resulted in his first of two double bogeys. The next came at the third hole, where an errant drive and a failed bunker shot again cost him two shots.

At that moment, McIlroy stood at 8-over, outside the cutline with 15 treacherous holes to play. Broadly, few would have blamed McIlroy for limping in. A missed cut would have felt disappointing in the moment, lingering only a brief time before the jubilation of his Masters victory retook priority. He said as much in his pre-tournament press conference. But McIlroy stabilized with five straight pars, then made a bonus birdie at No. 9, holing a 30-footer to get back to 7-over.

Still, the fun was just beginning.

After a bogey at No. 11, it threatened to spin off the rails at the 12th hole. In the fairway after his drive, McIlroy smother-hooked his approach and tomahawked his club into the ground before the ball even reached its apex. Two shots later, he stood over a downhill delicate 4-footer for par. Just before him, playing partner Justin Rose had cleaned up for a triple bogey. His fate was decided well before he took several lashes from the 12th hole’s dense rough. McIlroy’s other partner, Shane Lowry, had tapped in for par, but he too was already looking for flights home.

McIlroy, who admitted he’s struggled to get motivated since the Masters, could easily have joined them. A miss here and he likely would have. Instead, McIlroy poured it in. 8-over with six to play. Game on.

He flagged his approach into the par-3 13th, but his 11-foot birdie slid by the hole. McIlroy let another great opportunity slip at the 14th, driving it into the greenside bunker of the 368-yard par-4 that was playing downhill and pitching it out to 6 feet. That one was a lip out.

The damn finally broke at the 15th, the hardest hole on the back nine. McIlroy pounded his drive 357 yards, the second-longest of the day, wedged his approach to 20 feet, and sank the putt. That moved him to 7-over, right as the cutline firmly settled there.

McIlroy made a comfortable par at the 16th, then stepped up to the drivable 17th with his last good chance at a birdie and some breathing room. He launched his tee ball high into the hazy Pennsylvania sky, and within moments, his head was down. The disgust of the shot boiled over as he smashed a tee marker with his driver. It’s unclear at this point whether McIlroy thought he needed to get to 6-over (he declined media after his round), but he gave himself a chance by spinning his bunker shot to 12 feet. Like several of the putts before, he gave the putt just a little too much respect, and it slid by the hole for another par.

That set up the stakes for the 18th and the ensuing fireworks that ensured him a weekend at the U.S. Open. As he crested the hill to reach the 18th green and saw his ball next to the hole, he looked to Lowry and said, “Pretty good.”

McIlroy’s chances to win the U.S. Open are slim, but they are better than zero. Good enough for now.