Jason Day got off to a promising start Friday at the Mayakoba Golf Classic, only to stumble late and end the day eight shots off the lead.

Day was bogey-free and 4 under through 15 holes when he tugged his tee shot at El Camaleon Golf Club's par-4 16th hole. Trying to avoid the water left, Day tried to cut a drive into the narrow fairway, but his tee ball started left and stayed there, ending up in the mangroves.

Day's double bogey and ensuing bogey at the penultimate hole dropped him to 1 under, where he finished the day after a first-round 70, eight back of leader Danny Lee.

"It was much better than what the score was," Day said. "Obviously, I had a couple of bad swings on 16 and 18, which ultimately cost me three shots. I felt like I played decent the whole day. ... I need to hit a few more fairways tomorrow; that'd be nice. 

"But overall, it was a pretty good, solid start. I was 4 under through 15, kind of cruising, and I thought that I could maybe get one or two coming in, get it to 5 or 6. Unfortunately, went the other way."

Day is ranked No. 29 in the world and hasn't recorded a top-10 finish since the Travelers Championship in June.