JIMMY WHITE intends to play until the age of 65 and is not yet ready to give up top-class snooker to “play bad golf”.
The Whirlwind “enjoyed myself a bit too much” in the 1980s and 1990s, mixing potting with sex, drugs and – as befits a pal of the Rolling Stones band – rock ‘n’ roll.
Yet he is a different character these days, early to bed and clean living, and having recently turned 63, he is embarking on another two years on the World Snooker Tour.
Baize bosses handed him the invitational card for his services to the sport, which saw him win 10 ranking titles and reach six Crucible finals.
The cult hero is the only one of his generation still playing at a professional standard but he knows that eventually Father Time will dictate for how long he can be competitive.
White said: “This last year my schedule was too busy. I was all over the place doing exhibitions and my preparation wasn’t the greatest.
“I have to manage it a bit differently for the next two years but if I don’t find some form, this will be my last two years.
“You’ve got to show the form on the table. My game is in good shape but I’ve not got any results this year.
“If I didn’t think I could win, I wouldn’t play. The minute I think I can’t win, I won’t play. But I don’t take any regard of what people say about me playing on.
“Is there a chance I’ll play at 70? No. I’m going to see out these two years and if I find some consistency, then I’ll make a decision. But if I don’t, I’m going to go and play bad golf.”
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The Class of 92 – Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Williams and John Higgins – all turn 50 this year and they are positioned in the top five spots in the world rankings.
Even though Chinese cueist Zhao Xintong is the world champion aged 28, there is no stopping the old guard just yet.
White said: “Snooker’s not like football or boxing. As long as your eyes are okay, you can carry on.
“My eyes are fine. I still make maximums. I still play to a good standard. But getting it out, it’s different. It’s tough because there’s so many good players.
“Snooker’s a game that you need the desire to practice – which, when I was at my best, I didn’t practice.
“I’ve got natural ability, a bit like Xintong, he’s not been taught. I was never taught.
“So it’s all about touch and feel with me. If I put in the work, the game’s still there.
“Listen, I’ve never played snooker for money. Snooker has been amazing to me – the people I’ve met, the life I’ve had.
“It’s well known that I enjoyed myself a bit too much. But I’m enjoying playing again.”
White had plenty of highs and lows at the Crucible but some of the best bits in that place have come on the Seniors circuit.
The South Londoner – who recently bought a snooker club in Woking – has won the JenningsBet World Seniors Snooker Championship on a record four occasions.
He has been practising at Ding Junhui’s academy in Sheffield and today (Thursday) he is up against Alfie Burden in round one of the 2025 tournament, a repeat of the final two years ago.
There is a danger the World Snooker Championship might leave the South Yorkshire theatre when the existing contracts runs out in 2027.
But White, who works for TNT Sports as a pundit, said: “I don’t think it will leave here. I hope not anyway because when it gets down to a one-table situation, there’s nothing like it.
“I know the young lads who are coming through, they don’t care where they play really because they’ve not experienced it yet.
“But anyone who’s played in the semi-finals, on the one table, there’s nothing like the Crucible.
“I’d like it to stay here for sure. Okay, the facilities are a bit tight with the two tables but I think that makes it part of the buzz.”