One of the harshest penalties in a sport known for its etiquette and countless regulations will be consigned to history from the start of next year, golf's governing body has announced.

From next January 1st, tournament committees will be allowed to accept as an "administrative error" incidents where the correct score has been entered on the wrong card, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club (R&A) said in a statement.

"In the future, committees will be allowed to correct such an error without penalty," the R&A said.

"Revised decision 6-6d/4 gives a committee the power to strike the wrong name from an otherwise correctly completed score card without limit of time."

Under this new interpretation of the rule, an incident such as the Mark Roe scorecard mix-up at the 2003 British Open would never happen.

England's Roe and his Swedish playing partner, Jesper Parnevik, were disqualified from that year's championship when the players signed for the wrong scores after failing to exchange cards at the start of Saturday's third round.

Roe's scorecard blunder cost him a tie for third place going into the final day at Royal St George's after he had charged into contention with a joint best-of-the-week score of 67.

Following that incident, the R&A changed its recording system for the 2004 British Open, but made clear the responsibility for checking scorecards would remain with the players.

Among several other changes announced by the R&A and the United States Golf Association (USGA) yesterday, distance measuring devices will be permitted from the start of next year.

Tournament committees will be allowed to sanction the use of devices like GPS-based systems and laser rangefinders under local rule.

Such devices are widely used by leading players in practice rounds.

"This applies to devices that measure distance only, not any other conditions that might affect a player's game, such as wind or gradient," said the R&A.

The changes are among 111 amendments made by the R&A and USGA to the book Decisions on the Rules of Golf. Published every two years, the new edition becomes effective for all golfers from January 1st, 2006.

The R&A is the game's worldwide governing body and works closely with the USGA, which administers golf in Mexico and the United States.

Roe welcomed the decision.

"I think it (the R&A decision) is a great move. I am really pleased that something good has come from my mistake," Roe told reporters at the Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews, which gets under way over three course tomorrow.

"The opportunity I had at Sandwich would have changed my life if I'd played well enough. It was an unfortunate thing, but you abide by the rules."

Roe was praised for the dignified way he accepted his disqualification on that occasion..

"I would like to think the way I handled it at the time and what I went through was possibly a small influencing factor in getting them to look at it," said Roe.

"It was 100 per cent my mistake and I have never looked to make an excuse for it. I didn't make a mistake in my scores.

"Jesper came to the tee a good deal later than me. I had picked up my card and in all the excitement in getting ready to tee off, I stuck it in my bag and he did the same with his.

"Just a simple mistake to make."

Meanwhile, teenage prodigy Michelle Wie is set to compete on the Japanese men's tour.

The American schoolgirl, who turns 16 next month, will become the second female to take on the men on Japan's JGTO Tour when she plays in the Casio World Open from November 24th-27th.

In January 2004 Wie became only the fourth female, and the youngest in history, to play on the men's US PGA Tour when she missed the cut by one stroke at the Sony Open in Hawaii.

Wie, who made her LPGA Tour debut at 12, has yet to confirm reports she will turn professional next month.