FORT WORTH, Texas—Rory Sabbatini was on an incredible run even before winning the Crowne Plaza Invitational last year.

Three consecutive top-three finishes, including the runner-up spot at the Masters, came in the stretch before Sabbatini won a three-man playoff at Colonial.

Sabbatini hasn’t won since. And that trio of tournaments where the South African was so good last spring before getting to Hogan’s Alley? He missed two cuts and finished 67th in the other this time.

Yet, Sabbatini insists that he’s playing better going into this year’s Colonial than he was then.

The tournament starts today.

Sabbatini returns to Colonial as the 14th-ranked player in the world, two spots higher than at the same point a year ago. But his scoring average of 71 is more than a stroke higher than last season, and he has finished under par only four times his last 20 rounds.