American Jordan Spieth has won the Australian Open for the second time in a thrilling three-man playoff at Royal Sydney Golf Club.Spieth drained a three-metre putt for birdie on the 18th hole to scupper the dreams of local hopes Cameron Smith and Ashley Hall on Sunday.The trio all finished the championship 72 holes at 12 under par, with Spieth draining a nerve-wracking two-metre putt on the last just to make the sudden-death playoff.Then, in a dramatic climax, Spieth put his approach to three metres on the first hole of the playoff - the 18th - before Hall knocked his to less than two metres.Displaying all the cl and class that helped him land last years Masters and US Open crowns, 23-year-old Spieth again buried his clutch putt before Hall pushed his birdie attempt right of the cup.Spieths victory follows his win at The Australian in 2014 and his runner-up showing last year at the same venue.His victory is also a big win for Open officials, with the world No.5 almost certain to return to again defend the trophy next year when the tournament moves back to The Australian.In a major consolation for the joint runners-up, Smith and Hall secured starts at next years British Open at Royal Birkdale, as did two-time champion Aaron Baddeley, who finished in a five-way tie for fourth at 10 under, two shots out of the playoff.Baddeley closed with a one-under 71 and edged out Rod Pampling (70), Jason Scrivener (69), New Zealander Ryan Fox (71) and third-round leader Geoff Ogilvy (73) by virtue of his superior world ranking.After starting the day with a two-stroke lead, Ogilvy lked the likely winner for much of the afternn before unravelling with a bogey on the par-4 15th and a catastrophic double on the easy par-5 16th.The former US Open champion struggled off the tee all day and his hopes of a second national title - to go with his 2010 triumph at The Lakes - evaporated after he drove into the trees and couldnt get out on 16.While he eventually signed for a disappointing 73, Hall and Smith both charged home with final-round six-under 66s to reel in Ogilvy, with Spieth closing with a 69. 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Defense, pitching and home games have been sources of irritation for the St. Louis Cardinals.But hitting homers can cover a multitude of sins, and St. Louis is currently in position for its sixth straight postseason berth because it continues to crush the ball over the wall.As the Cardinals start a three-game series Tuesday night with the New York Mets at Busch Stadium, theyll do so having belted a National League-high 173 homers, including 26 in their last 12 games.Only Baltimore (192) and Toronto (179) have drilled more homers than St. Louis, and both have the advantage of playing their home games in hitters parks.Its not the only way we can score runs, but its our main way, Cardinals first baseman Brandon Moss said. Weve got a lot of guys in the lineup that can do a lot of damage, and it puts some stress on pitchers. Its nice to have guys in the lineup who can change a game like that.Moss has done more than any St. Louis hitter to change games with the long ball, even though he missed nearly a month with a sprained ankle. In just 290 at-bats, Moss has cracked 23 homers, his latest on Sunday in a 9-0 win at Philadelphia.The Cardinals recorded four homers in that game, including their 14th pinch-hit blast of the year by Jeremy Hazelbaker in the eighth inning. That tied the all-time MLB record and capped a 6-3 road trip that gave St. Louis (66-57) a 1 1/2-game lead over Miami for the NLs second wild-card spot.However, the Cardinals play their next six games at home, where they are only 28-33 this year. That might provide a glimmer of hoppe for New York, which needs all the positives it can get at this point.ddddddddddddAt 62-62, the defending NL champs are 4 1/2 games behind St. Louis and need at least a series win, if not a sweep. They are coming off a series split in San Francisco, thanks to a 2-0 win on Sunday night.If youre going to win, your gd players have to play gd. We ride those guys, Mets manager Terry Collins said. Hopefully, this is the start of what we want to do.The series opener pits left-handers on the mound as the Cardinals trot out Jaime Garcia (10-8, 4.11 ERA) against Jonathon Niese (8-7, 5.30).Garcia has won his last three starts, although he was propped up by the offense in an 8-5 decision on Aug. 16 in Houston, allowing five runs in five-plus innings. His only outing against New York earlier this year resulted in a 3-1 loss on July 26 in the nightcap of a doubleheader.Niese has faced St. Louis three times this season while pitching for Pittsburgh, going 1-1 and allowing 13 runs off 24 hits in 16 innings. He absorbed a 13-5 defeat Wednesday night at Arizona in his first start with the Mets.In an appealing matchup Wednesday night, the Cardinals Carlos Martinez (11-7, 3.24 ERA) faces Jacob deGrom (7-6, 2.73). Adam Wainwright (9-7, 4.71) will pitch Thursday nights series finale for St. Louis against a starter to be determined, as Steven Matz will skip his turn after being diagnosed with a left shoulder strain on Monday. ' ' '