India, July 21 -- Scottie Scheffler started the 153rd Open Championship with a question that became the talk of the golf world: "What's the point?"

On Sunday evening, his ruthless romp to a four-shot victory for his fourth major title was so utterly dominating, the rest of the elite field at Royal Portrush was left asking the same question.

When the new world ranking came out on Monday morning, he was still the No.1, but that's because he has nowhere else to climb. Of course, there is a danger of slipping down, which is statistically improbable at least until the 2026 Masters. With 20.252 average points, he has opened a nine-point gap over the second-placed Rory McIlroy (11.556). Xander Schauffele is a distant third at 7.288.

This is h...