He’s ready to roll again

When he won the Nissan Open last year, Rory Sabbatini joined a small group of players in their 20s with at least three PGA Tour victories. In fact, only Sergio Garcia, 27 at the time, had won more, with six wins.

Sabbatini turned 30 in April, wound up making 19 cuts in 24 tournaments last year and earned a career-high $2.86 million. His best season of the eight since he turned professional for the 1999 campaign began at Riviera Country Club, where Sabbatini hopes to make the most of his return.

“It was obviously a great year and great start to the year and I obviously ended up getting my best year on tour,” Sabbatini said, “but it was one of those years where everything got kicked off really well.

“Things just seemed to be clicking and golf is a funny game like that. It goes in cycles.”

Sabbatini got off to a quick start last year when he closed with an eight-under-par 62 to finish tied for second at the Sony Open, then was second again in his next tournament, the AT&T; Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. So when he showed up at Riviera, Sabbatini was already off and running.

He moved into the lead with a 65 in the second round and led by four shots after his third-round 67. Adam Scott came closest to Sabbatini on Sunday, firing a seven-under 64, but Sabbatini’s one-over 72 was good enough for a one-shot victory.

Sabbatini, who also won the 2000 Air Canada Championship and the 2003 FBR Open, had collected a third Tour victory.

The South African native who lives in Texas was a three-time All-American at Arizona and earned a reputation as a talented but sometimes temperamental player. At Riviera last year, Sabbatini said he was happy to have learned to keep his emotions in check, and that seemed to help.

Also helping to improve his mental approach is Sabbatini’s involvement in charity work. Sabbatini donates to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, to raise money for injured soldiers and their families. Sabbatini has a new drive underway, partnering with Banfield Veterinary Hospitals and Petsmart in designing a “dog tag” for animals with “My Family supports our soldiers” printed on them.

The project is being launched this week in time for Valentine’s Day. At $2, all the proceeds go to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.

“Obviously, that has been a great benefit for the fund and for us to try and help them out,” Sabbatini said. “We just really want to make people aware of it so they understand it.”

Sabbatini travels through the PGA Tour season on a tour bus and brings his family with him: wife Amy and his children Harley, 4, and Tylie Joe, 1 1/2 .

“We were looking for a way to make traveling as easy as possible, as well as for there to be a constant environment for our children,” he said. “At the same time, it is also good for my game because it gives me something else to do other than just go back to a hotel room and do nothing.”

Last year, Sabbatini was ranked 22nd in scoring average at 70.29 and his earnings placed him at a career-high 12th on the PGA Tour money list.

And the start came at Riviera, where Sabbatini wore a belt with a Superman buckle and played the part well. He’s used to kikuya rough and poa greens, so Riviera suited him well, Sabbatini said.

“Even though it is a traditional layout and most of the holes are all in front of you, I find it a course that is very demanding on being able to pick a shot and shape a shot off a target back into the middle of the fairway,” he said.

“And for some reason, Riviera, just with the tree-lined fairways and the way it lays out, it’s one of those courses that just feels the [right] way to me.

“So it is a course that I find just visually to me very appealing. When I set up on any given tee shot on the golf course, I feel completely comfortable.”

Eight of the top 10 ranked players and 25 of the top 30 are entered in the $5.2-million Nissan Open, which begins Thursday at the 7,260-yard layout in Pacific Palisades. The winner’s share is $936,000.

thomas.bonk@latimes.com