Golf-Spieth to defend Australian Open title

SYDNEY, July 21 (Reuters) - Masters and U.S. Open champion Jordan Spieth will return to Sydney in late November to defend his Australian Open title, organisers said on Tuesday. The 21-year-old American won the Stonehaven Cup by six shots last year and with his recent run of form is bound to increase the size of the galleries at The Australian Golf Club in Sydney from Nov. 26-29. Spieth came within a stroke of joining a four-hole playoff for the British Open title at St. Andrews on Monday, which Zach Johnson went on to clinch over South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen and Australia's Marc Leishman. "I'm absolutely thrilled to return to Sydney," Spieth said in a statement on Tuesday. "I had a fantastic time in Australia. I can't wait to come back and hopefully defend the Stonehaven Cup." Spieth, who turns 22 next week, used last year's victory in Australia as a springboard for a run of success on the PGA Tour this season. He won the Hero World Challenge last December and then the Valspar Championships before clinching his first major title at Augusta National in April by four shots. He then claimed the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay by one stroke last month. "It has been an amazing six months since I left Australia. "Shooting 63 in the final round and winning at The Australian Golf Club was one of the proudest moments of my career. "To see my name on the Stonehaven Cup alongside all the champions of the game gave me great confidence." (Reporting by Greg Stutchbury in Wellington; Editing by Peter Rutherford)