The PGA Tour is contemplating another change to the format at the Tour Championship to crown a FedEx Cup champion as part of its response to what fans, television and corporate partners want to see.

Two PGA Tour officials said several concepts are still under discussion as officials review what effect it would have on everything from corporate hospitality at East Lake in Atlanta to determining the best way to reward the top performances.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions have not been made public. One person directly involved in studying the various concepts said none has been brought to the Players Advisory Council.

The Athletic first reported on movement toward a change of format for the season finale.

Any change would need approval by the PGA Tour board, and the official said while not impossible, it was unlikely to be decided before this year’s Tour Championship.

The tour is leaning toward a bracket of seeds, which is not necessarily straight match play. While considered the purest format in golf competition, match play on television can be less compelling as the field shrinks, especially for fans who have only one match on the course.

One of the options involves stroke play to narrow the field and a form of medal matches, which is head-to-head stroke play, assuring 18 holes. Another idea being reviewed is having matches decide positions from No. 1 through No. 8, with a big discrepancy in prize money.

Scottie Scheffler won the FedEx Cup last year and earned a $25 million bonus.

Commissioner Jay Monahan had said in his year-end remarks to the staff that “everything is on the table,” and that includes the Tour Championship.

The Tour Championship has struggled to find the best way to crown a season champion since the FedEx Cup began in 2007. Tiger Woods won the FedEx Cup and Phil Mickelson won the Tour Championship in 2009, leading to two storylines — and trophies — from one tournament.

Tour officials had contemplated keeping the Tour Championship intact, followed by an extra day when the top players in the standings would play for the FedEx Cup. That was scrapped for what became known as “starting strokes” in 2019. The top seed began the tournament at 10-under par with a two-shot lead over the No. 2 seed, on down the list until the final five qualifiers in the 30-man field started at even par.

That allowed for one winner, but only twice in six years — Rory McIlroy in 2019 and in 2022 — has the FedEx Cup champion had the lowest actual score over 72 holes at East Lake. Xander Schauffele was medalist in 2020 and tied FedEx Cup champion Viktor Hovland in 2023.

tennis

Novak Djokovic was beaten 7-6 (6), 6-3 by big-serving Reilly Opelka in the Brisbane International quarterfinals at Brisbane, Australia. The 37-year-old Djokovic was playing his first tournament of the year. The 24-time Grand Slam champion is preparing for the Australian Open, which starts on Jan. 12 and which he has won 10 times.

Opelka served 16 aces — including one to finish off each set — to earn one of the biggest wins of the American’s career.

In the semifinals, Opelka will face Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, who beat Jakub Mensik 7-5, 7-6 (5). The other semifinal will feature Jiri Lehecka against Grigor Dimitrov.

jurisprudence

U.S. Olympic runner Fred Kerley has been arrested in South Florida following a confrontation with police, authorities said.

Body camera footage released by Miami Beach police shows Kerley arguing with a group of officers late Thursday before a physical confrontation erupted. Kerley was wrestled to the ground, where an officer stuck him several times and then used a Taser on the 29-year-old sprinter, police said.

According to an arrest report, officers were investigating an unrelated active police scene when Kerley approached the area and attempted to force his way through to his vehicle, which was parked nearby. Officers had told Kerley to go around the area, but Kerley began to argue with them, which led to a shoving match with police.

Four officers tried to take Kerley into custody while he moved to evade arrest, officials said. After being stunned with the Taser, Kerley was taken to a local hospital and then to the Miami-Dade County jail.

Kerley is charged with battery, resisting an officer and disorderly conduct.

Kerley won the silver medal for the 100 meters at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and the bronze for the same event at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. He has also earned six medals at the World Athletics Championships.

college basketball

Kam Jones overcame a slow start to collect 22 points, nine rebounds and five assists as No. 8 Marquette (13-2, 4-0 Big East) notched a 79-71 victory over Creighton (9-6, 2-2).

Szymon Zapala scored a season-high 15 points and No. 18 Michigan State (12-2, 3-0) made 8 of 10 free throws to hold off Ohio State (9-5, 1-2) for its third straight win, 69-62, to start Big Ten play.

baseball

Veteran right-hander Charlie Morton and the Baltimore Orioles agreed to a one-year, $15 million contract. The 41-year-old Morton, the hero of Game 7 of the 2017 World Series with Houston, will try to fill a hole in Baltimore’s rotation. It will be Morton’s 18th major league season.

Morton has a career record of 138-123. He pitched 165 1/3 innings for Atlanta last year, going 8-10 with a 4.19 ERA.