Part of the Driving Team

He’s a relatively recent addition to the ranks of professional golf, but Sam Burns is a well-known commodity in the sport and in Louisiana. 


A Shreveport native, Burns played for LSU and forged a stellar collegiate career, winning four individual titles and setting the single-season scoring record as a sophomore. In his senior year in 2017, he won the NCAA Division I Jack Nicklaus Player of the Year award, was named a Ping First Team All American and helped win the Palmer Cup as a member of Team USA.

In 2018, Origin Bank began an exciting new partnership with Burns. As a corporate sponsor, Origin promotes Burns as a member of the Web.com tour. Meanwhile, Burns’ success brings attention to the bank’s products and quality of its service.

Burns also helps Origin connect with the next generation of younger bank customers, whose unique experiences and preferences are reshaping the financial industry and will for years to come.

Larry Little, Origin’s Louisiana State President, says the ability to make those connections is crucial, and Burns’ affiliation with the bank is an example of the relationships the bank is creating with millennials.

“Everything about Sam represents excellence. He approaches competition with the intention of winning,” Little says. “Younger customers identify with that frame of mind, and we share that spirit in the way we serve customers based on their needs.” 


As an Origin Bank ambassador, Burns is a natural link between the bank and its commitment to his generation, as well as his accomplishments as a professional athlete. As their relationship with Burns shows, the bank has begun a dialogue to understand customers’ evolving needs while showing them the benefits of Origin’s relationship banking.

For example, Origin recently introduced a new Personal Financial Management tool. The free tool is integrated into Origin’s existing online apps, giving customers a single point of access for all their financial needs ‒ budgeting, account aggregation, auto-categorization and debt management.

“As someone who spends a lot of time traveling on the tour, I’m very mobile. I rely on Origin’s technology for help,” Burns says.

At the same time, the bank is always a phone call away for service or the support of friends like Kade McDonald, Burns’ personal Origin banker.

“Being close to the people from Origin Bank, I knew that it was people that I could trust,” Burns says. “Even if it was just a phone call to Kade just to talk about, you know, my round of golf that day.”