With increased prize money, women's Indian Open to begin from October 18

India's premier women's golf event -- the Hero Indian Open -- will be contested over 72 holes for the first time when it tees off at the DLF Golf and Country Club here from October 18-21, the organisers announced Tuesday.

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, co-sponsored by Castrol, will set a host of new landmarks -- starting with the prize money that touches a record USD half a million for the first time, making it the second richest golf tournament in the country after the men's Indian Open.

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.

Among other top Indians is the current Pro Golf Tour Order of Merit leader - Tvesa Malik, along with Amandeep Drall, and Gursimar Badwal among others.

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.