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NORTON — With autumn’s icey grip still weeks away, Dustin Johnson played through a chilly, bright and blustery September round Friday at TPC Boston with the familiar blistering hand he’s fashioned throughout 2017 to take the first-round lead in the Dell Technologies Championship.

Johnson, the PGA’s top money earner with $8.392 million this year, fired three birdies and an eagle on his front nine en route to carding a 5-under-par 66, setting him up with a chance to pocket his second FedExCup playoff in as many weeks.

The tall, lanky 33-year-old Johnson, who has recorded seven tour wins over the last two seasons, will begin Round 2 Saturday morning with a one-stroke lead over Kyle Stanley, Marc Leishman, Sergio Garcia, and Jon Rahm.

Johnson also will be challenged by a half-dozen fortune seekers who finished only two back (68), including Kevin Na, Luke List, Brian Harman, Jason Dufner, Jonas Blixt, and Grayson Murray.

“The conditions were quite difficult, I thought,’’ said Johnson, who teed off at 9:15 a.m. in a fearsome threesome that included Justin Thomas (even) and Jordan Spieth (1 over). “The wind’s blowing pretty hard out there and it definitely made it tough.’’

For the day, though, no one struggled more than Kelly Kraft, part of the trio that was first to crank it off the first tee at 8:15 a.m. Only minutes later, playing the par-4 second hole, Kraft posted a mind-numbing 12 — the worst single-hole score on the PGA Tour this year.

Kraft, 28, continued along the 7,342-yard track for a couple of more hours but ultimately cashed in his bag after the 14th hole. Reason for his withdrawal: foot injury.

Last year’s champion, Rory McIlroy, who along with Vijay Singh is the only two-time winner here, finished at 1-over 72. Adam Scott, who captured the inaugural championship at TPC Boston in 2003 for his first Tour win, broke even for the day.

Johnson, who at 6 feet 4 inches is among the tallest in the game, opened on No. 10 with a birdie and sandwiched another pair of birdies around one of his two bogeys on the day. His eagle on the par-5 18th gave him a tidy 31 on his outgoing nine, and he plugged along for a 1-under 35 on the return for his 66.

A win here would be Johnson’s fifth in 2017, and his ninth Top-10 finish in 18 tournaments. It also would maintain his No. 1 ranking in the FedExCup playoffs, sending him to Round 3 at Lake Forest as the favorite to pocket the FedEx $10 million bonus Sept. 24 at East Lake in Atlanta.

There is still a ways to go, and New England weather has wrecked many a sailor’s plans, but Johnson is playing with a strut ‘n’ stroke that could see him make a run at all four FedEx playoff events. No one has won all four, be it in one year or collectively over the four stops (New York, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta).

“Is it going to happen? I have no idea,’’ Johnson said prior to teeing off on Friday. “I’d love to say, yeah, I’m going to win all four, but the odds are not in my favor.’’

Johnson has played TPC Boston seven times, dating to 2009, and never has failed to pick up a check. Although he’s never won here at the end of Arnold Palmer Boulevard, he has a trio of Top-10 finishes and career Boston earnings of some $992,000. The winning check handed out on Monday will be for $1,575,000.

“I like this tournament,’’ he said. “I like coming up here.’’

Stanley, 29, in July carded only his second PGA win, edging Charles Howell III in a playoff at the Quicken Loans National. Playing here for only a fourth time, and for the first time since 2013, he turned in an error-free round, dotted with three birdies on the front nine and then one more on the return for his 67. Had it not been for the wind, he might have scored better.

“It’s hard to get a judge, which way it’s blowing,’’ said Stanley, who has nearly $10 million in career earnings. “It seemed to switch several directions throughout the day.’’

A gregarious Aussie, Leishman has made eight previous trips to TPC Boston and failed to make the cut only once (2015). His best finishes here were a T-15 in ’09 and a T-16 in ’13, and he jumped out to a sizzling start Friday when he drained five birdies on the front nine. He was even on the back.

“Got off to a good start,’’ he said. “Birdied three of the first four holes. From then on, you think you’re making birdies, not just holding on to make pars.’’

Garcia, who has had T-4 and T-5 finishes here, posted five birdies on his outgoing nine for an impressive 31 and finished at 67, only three strokes off his Boston best of 64.

Rahm strung together three straight birdies at the end of his round to elbow his way into the pack of 67s.

Following a week off after play here, the top 70 players in the FedExCup ranking will move to the Round 3 playoffs at Conway Farms outside Chicago. From there, the Top 30 will finish out the year at the Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta.

“I finally feel like I’m swinging really well,’’ said Johnson. “I’d doing everything really well right now. Which is what I’m trying to do, leading into Atlanta.’’