Sydney, November 29

Matt Jones followed in the footsteps of boyhood idol Greg Norman by winning the Australian Open today, holding off the challenge of world No 1 Jordan Spieth and former champion Adam Scott.

Australia’s Jones, 35, fought back from a horror start to his final round, dropping three shots in his opening two holes and also taking a triple bogey at the ninth, to win by a stroke. The Sydney-born player regrouped to post a final round two-over-par 73 and claim the honours with an eight-under 276 total.

Spieth missed a 15-foot eagle putt at the last that would have sent the event into a play-off, with his 71 ensuring a share of second place at seven-under-par with Australia’s Scott (65), who won in 2009. Jones’s victory earned him a place in next July’s Open Championship at Royal Troon. However, it was a tense last few minutes as defending champion Spieth attempted to force a play-off, but his eagle putt slid by the hole with the two-time major winner ending with a birdie.

Spieth now heads to his second tournament defence in succession and Thursday’s Tiger Woods-hosted Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas. At the conclusion of that tournament, he will take a month-long break before resuming competition.