Newly divorced Colin Montgomerie needs a Johnnie Walker win - or a good bottle of Scotch

I have a rooting interest in this week’s Johnnie Walker Classic where Colin Montgomerie, the moody Scot, is itching for a win.

Last weekend, Tiger Woods won the Dubai Desert Classic while a subdued Monty finished 101st. Even more distressing was the size of his estimated $14 million out-of-court divorce settlement. One can only imagine how painful, especially for a Scot, such an expensive trip to the cleaners must be.

Taking Monty’s money woes into consideration, won’t everyone please be especially civil to him this week? Stow away your cameras, stand nice and still, and keep those barbed comments to yourselves. Monty needs that first-prize dough real bad.

One of the tour’s most watchable players, Montgomerie is known as much for his temperament as his handsome swing. We never know when Monty will blow his stack over the click of a shutter, a marshal’s ill-timed command for silence, an announcer standing too close, or a spectator’s sudden movement.

Most everyone who views him in person has seen the famous Montgomery glare, or observed him gesticulating and stomping in anger or frustration. Those of us who lose our cool easily can only symphathize: Poor Colin is incapable of concealing his emotions. Unfortunately for him, everybody loves to razz a sorehead, like the fan who yelled at Monty to “next time take the headcover off” after a lousy drive at the Players Championship. The notoriously cruel British tabloids don’t help with those headlines about “Scotland Lard.”

The grudge match between Monty and fans has been simmering a long time. Hecklers at the 1995 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills shouted “Mrs. Doubtfire” at him, noting a resemblance to the cross-dressing movie character played by Robin Williams. Monty took offense and a war of words ensued.

When the heckling escalated during the 1999 Ryder Cup Matches in Massachusetts, Monty threatened never again to play in the United States. For their part, fans complained that Monty wasn’t obliging, didn’t sign autographs, and always wore a frown. Things got so bad that Golf Digest launched a “Be Nice to Monty” campaign at the 2002 U.S. Open.

Although he has finished as a runner-up twice in the U.S. Open, once at the PGA Championship and once at the British Open, it’s beginning to look like the 42-year-old Montgomerie may never win a major championship, despite being one of the greatest-ever stars in Ryder Cup play and winning 30 times on the European Tour.

The hope now is to win a bundle of prize money in the Johnny Walker Classic, where the winnings total $2.1 million. Here’s a good-luck wish to Monty, from one divorced man to another.