Who is Ryan Smith? Everything we know about Tony Finau’s billionaire caddie

The Hero World Challenge, which ended in December last year, was a resounding hit.

Besides the championship, fans' eyes were on Tony Finau's new caddie, Ryan Smith, after regular caddie Mark Urbanek missed the series as his wife was expecting a baby. While Mark was with his wife, Smith handled Finau during the match. Smith is technically one of the richest caddies in the world.

He is richer than most golfers, and even the newly-turned-billionaire Tiger Woods cannot claim to be wealthier. As reported by Forbes, his net worth is around €1.13 billion.

Smith marched into people's hearts during last year's tournament because of his humble behavior. Despite being so rich, he helped his friend on the golf course.

Speaking about the tournament, Smith said:

"He (Tony) called me, and he's like, 'Bro, I need you to caddie for me."

The billionaire went on to say:

"I've been next to him as an amateur partner, and he's in contention on the old course. So I know his game well enough and his treatment and his temperament ..... It's the perfect setup."

It is important to note that Finau and Ryan Smith have been friends since childhood. In one of his interviews, the golfer revealed that he'd known Smith since he hadn't a penny to his name.

The 44 year old Smith is a full-time businessman, part-time golfer and occasionally serves as a caddie.

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Ryan Smith enjoys playing golf.

Ryan Smith and Tony Finau grew up in Salt Lake and loved sports right away. However, Tony landed a career in golf while his buddy developed an interest in business.

Smith was the co-founder of a US cloud computing company called Qualtrics, but sold it to SAP, a German software giant, in 2018.

He then invested in the NBA and bought a majority stake in Utah Jazz. He been passionate about basketball, and this has been one of his most cherished investments.

Ryan enjoys playing golf, but only for fun and relaxation. An interview quoted him saying that his stepfather introduced him to the game.

Smith said:

"I had a stepfather who is longer with us, but he kind of got going in golf. I worked at the golf course when I was 14, picking balls on the range, and then just loved it."

The man lives and breathes golf and believes that the game is akin to yoga for him. He said:

"My wife says, 'You need to do yoga, 'I tell her my yoga is golf."

Ryan Smith did his job beautifully and helped Tony score a birdie on the 18th hole of the tournament.

Smith accompanied Finau at the Dunhill Links Pro-Am in 2018 and 2019.

The tycoon is an admirable amateur golfer and won the Jack Lemmon award in 2019.

Smith is a Brigham Young University alum who also owns Real Salt Lake in the MLS. He is very active on social media and enjoys a decent following. He is all set to link up with Tony Finau again at the 2022 Hero World Challenge.