SPARTANBURG, SC - Simpsonville’s Tommy Jones, one of the hottest professional bowlers on tour today, is expected to be among those competing on the Denny’s PBA Tour in the Spartanburg Classic Pro-Am set for Dec. 12-16 at Shamrock Lanes and the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium.

Jones currently owns 10 career Denny’s PBA Tour titles, including the 63rd U.S. Open and the 2007 PBA Tournament of Champions. He has won all 10 of his titles in the past three seasons. He has made 17 TV Finals appearances in six full seasons on the Denny’s PBA Tour.

The Spartanburg Classic, sponsored by Team Spartanburg, the sports council of the Spartanburg Convention & Visitors Bureau, and Shamrock Lanes, will draw a field of 64 of the world’s top bowlers over five days of competition for a chance to advance to the ESPN nationally televised finals, an exciting showdown in which the winner will take home $25,000 and a one-year exemption on the 2008-09 Denny’s PBA Tour.

The total purse for the event is $180,000.

Tickets for the ESPN-broadcast finals at 1 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 16, from the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium will be available soon through the auditorium at www.crowdpleser.com or through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets are $25, $35 and $50.

Tickets are now on sale for the Spartanburg Classic Pro-Am and qualifying rounds through Shamrock Lanes on East Blackstock Road in Spartanburg.

The Pro-Am will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 12.  The qualifying round is from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and a practice session is set for to 5:30 p.m. Tickets for the qualifying round and practice session, combined, are $10; tickets to the Pro-Am are an additional $10.

On Thursday, Dec. 13, there will be two qualifying rounds, one from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and another from 5 to 10 p.m.; tickets to each session are $15. An all-day pass is $25. These rounds will cut to the top 32 players in the Open Division.

On Friday, Dec. 14, two Match Play rounds will be held, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and from 6 to 10 p.m., with the top five bowlers advancing to the finals to be broadcast on ESPN on Sunday. Tickets to the first round are $15; second round, $20; all-day pass, $25.

A United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Youth Pro-Am will be held on Saturday, Dec. 15, at Shamrock Lanes, with rounds at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.  Spectator tickets are $10.

A weeklong pass is $60; TV finals tickets are not included.

The Spartanburg Classic marks the first time in the Denny’s PBA Tour’s 49-year history that the tournament will be held in the company’s home state; Denny’s is headquartered in Spartanburg. The PBA will construct regulation bowling lanes in an arena of the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium to accommodate the expected crowd for this historic event.

“It’s a thrill for Spartanburg to host one of the premiere bowling events for the Denny’s PBA Tour,” says Mike Shetterly (Ogletree Deakins), chairman of Team Spartanburg. “Team Spartanburg works hard to attract events that the community and region can enjoy and we’re excited to bring this great opportunity to the Upstate.”

“We’re extremely proud to have a professional sporting event of this caliber in Spartanburg – one that brings national exposure to South Carolina and our company’s hometown,” Margaret Jenkins, Denny’s chief marketing officer, said when the event was announced. “Our involvement as the first-ever title sponsor of the PBA Tour gives us a unique opportunity to help spread the word about this very popular sport.”

Denny’s is the “Official Restaurant” of the PBA and also has entitlement of the 2008 PBA Denny’s World Championship.

For more information on the Spartanburg Classic, click here.  For updated information on the 2007-08 Denny’s PBA Tour, please visit www.pba.com.

For information on sponsoring the Spartanburg Classic, contact Nikki Harris at the Spartanburg Convention & Visitors Bureau at 864-594-6767 or 800-374-TEAM, or at laura.corbin@wofford.edu. Check Team Spartanburg’s Web site at www.TeamSpartanburgSC.org for updates.

Team Spartanburg’s mission is to promote Spartanburg as a destination for sports events; it recruits new events as well as provide assistance to existing sports events.

Team Spartanburg is supported by its partners:

Champions – City of Spartanburg, Coca-Cola, ESPN 1400 AM Radio, JM Smith Corp., Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System

MVPs – Wofford College

All-Stars – Ogletree Deakins, Showcase Marketing, Spartanburg Marriott at Renaissance Park, Spartanburg Methodist College, University of South Carolina Upstate

Team Spartanburg, the sports council of the Spartanburg Convention & Visitors Bureau, is providing support to the event. For information about Team Spartanburg, contact Nikki Harris at the CVB at (864) 594-6767 or laura.corbin@wofford.edu.