One of the longest running sponsorships in sport - Royal & SunAlliance Insurance's endorsement of the Rules of Golf - has been extended to take in the next edition which is due to be published on January 1, 2000.

The Royal & Ancient Golf Club renewed the arrangement, which has been in place since 1908, during the Open and rules secretary David Rickman said: "We are most grateful to Royal & SunAlliance for the efficient way in which they distribute some four million copies of the English-language version throughout the world every four years."