Golfers wrongly signing a scorecard after unknowingly breaching a rule will no longer be disqualified on the strength of video evidence.

The sport’s governing bodies, the R&A and United States Golf Association, have amended the rules, according to golf lessons cheadle.

Padraig Harrington was disqualified from an event in Abu Dhabi in January having signed a wrong score.

The Irishman’s hand brushed the back of his ball during the first round and he was later found guilty by TV evidence.

A viewer phoned in to bring the incident to the attention of the European Tour after the Dubliner, who failed to add the two-shot penalty, had wrongly signed his scorecard, resulting in the disqualification.

“I looked down and was pretty sure it had just oscillated and had not moved, so I continued on,” Harrington said at the time.

“At the end of the day that’s good enough, but I wouldn’t have done anything differently – there was nothing I could do about it at that moment in time.”