New Delhi, September 25: The 12th edition of the Hero Women's Indian Open will tee-off at the DLF Golf and Country Club here from October 18-21, it was announced on Tuesday (September 25). The event will see as many as 120 players from over 30 countries vying for the coveted trophy.

The tournament will witness the defending champion Camille Chevalier of France trying to extend her hold over the trophy from a strong field of international and Indian players. The tournament, sponsored by Castrol, will set a host of new landmarks - starting with the prize money that touches a record half a million US dollars for the first time, making it the second richest golf tournament in the country after the men's Hero Indian Open.

Hero Women's Indian Open 2018 to be bigger than ever before

• Record prize purse of US$ 500,000
• First-time ever - Live coverage on TV over all four days
• First-time ever - Tournament to be played over 72 holes@HeroMotoCorp @wgaofindia @LETgolf #HWIO18 ⛳️🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/kvqOFy504w

— Hero Women's Indian Open (@WomenIndianOpen) September 25, 2018

The prize money gets a 25 per cent increase over 2017 and a five-fold increase from its inaugural edition in 2007. For the first time, the tournament will be contested over 72 holes and will be telecast live over all four days, a significant landmark for Indian women's golf.

Vani Kapoor, who finished a career-best tied-sixth in the previous edition, will be leading the Indian challenge. Amongst other top Indians is the current Pro Golf Tour Order of Merit leader - Tvesa Malik, along with Amandeep Drall, and Gursimar Badwal among others.

Keeps getting bigger and better every year 🇮🇳🙌🏻⛳️ #HighHighHigher https://t.co/JJtJ3DtUaZ

— Amandeep Drall (@drallamandeep) September 25, 2018

The international players include Camille, former champion Swedish Caroline Hedwall, Beth Allen - the 2016 LET Order of Merit (OOM) winner, Thailand's Kanyalak Preedasuttjit - winner of the Thailand Ladies Open, and Celine Boutier - winner of the Australian Ladies Classic. Currently, 11 of the top-20 players on the LET OOM have entered the tournament, which is already higher than previous years.

There are nine tournament winners in the field, which includes the 2016 winner of the LET OOM. "As a long-term sponsor of Golf across the world, it gives me great joy and satisfaction to see this sport take giant strides in India. Tournaments such as these inspire young girls to take up the sport as a career," Chairman, Managing Director and CEO, Hero MotoCorp, Pawan Munjal, said.