LEDBURY darts ace Terry Jenkins has vowed to hit the practice boards hard this year as he looks to finally end his long wait for a major title.
The 51-year-old finished 2014 ranked 15th in the world after an impressive year, which saw him reach the final of the European Championship and UK Open.
Speaking to The Observer, Jenkins, known as ‘The Bull’, said he was surprised by how well he did as he admitted he did not practice as much as he had in previous years.
But he insisted he would be take more time to work on his darts as he bids to get back into the top ten and challenge for further darts titles.
“For the past 18 months, I have not practiced properly,” Jenkins said. “I have just done the odd bits here and there to get myself by as I have had other things going on.
“But I have made up my mind up that I am going to practice this year and put in a couple of hours every day, which was what I was before.
“We bought a house two or three years ago which we have been doing a lot of work on, but we have more or less finished that now, so I have got a bit more time than I had before.”
Jenkins has lost in nine major finals, but he said he had not given up on finally ending his drought and believes the extra practice this year could make a huge difference.
“When you haven’t been practising properly there is a little bit of doubt in your head whereas if you have put the practice in you go up there confident that you are going to win that game,” he said.
“I know I can win one (a major). Maybe I could have won one before if I had put the proper practice in, but I am happy to get to the finals. There are a lot of top players who have never been in a final.”
Jenkins also said his decision to spend more time at the oche this year was part of his plans to eventually retire from the sport.
“I want to wind it right down really as I can’t keep playing darts forever,” he added.
“You don’t get the chance to go on holiday and you have got to get a bit of a life back, so I have decided that I am going to have a good go at it this year, make what I can out of it, try and win something and then wind it down after that.”