Stephen Hendry has opened up on his underwhelming snooker return - insisting his plan was never to make a committed comeback to the sport.
Seven-time world champion Hendry's return to the main tour has fallen completely flat after the initial excitement surrounding his wildcard given by World Snooker in 2020. The legendary Scot, 53, has toiled on his uninspiring return to competitive action after his retirement in 2012 - winning just three of his 14 matches.
And he was whitewashed 5-0 by Welsh veteran Matthew Stevens in German Masters qualifying in his latest humbling, mustering a high break of just 32. Hendry is now a prominent pundit and preferred TV duties to competing in the qualifying for the UK Championship last month, a decision met with backlash in snooker circles.
And the youngest ever Crucible winner has now given his verdict on somewhat of a half-hearted comeback, in a candid chat with pro Matt Selt on his Cue Tips Youtube channel.
"I don't prepare so I can't expect to do anything to be fair," Hendry said. "We love golf don't we... and golf's a massive distraction.
"Unless I take it seriously - even playing like two hours a day or one hour a day for a whole month - that would be something.
"But I can't expect to just turn up. The players are good and the safety has improved and the scoring has improved. But I watch the players play and think if I put some work in I could get results."
Hendry has been a shadow of the player who dominated the sport in the 1990's and remains without a win all season. But he admits that he struggles to get motivated to compete in obscure qualifying venues and less glamorous events.
"I'm not saying I could win but that's not why I came back," he added. "People seem to think it's a comeback - it's not. It's just a wildcard to play in events.
"I came back to get the experience of playing in venues again with crowds, not to go to Wigan and play in a leisure centre. No disrespect to Wigan but that doesn't really get me going."
