Suffolk resident Lauren Doughtie recently qualified to join the Ladies Professional Golf Association and now she has a tournament finish and compensation to show for it.

After missing the cut in her first tour event, she went on to shoot 8-under 280 over four rounds in the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup last week in Phoenix.

“I actually got to hit the ball really well, and I putted really well,” Doughtie said. “I made a lot more of, not only the birdie putts, but the par-saving putts that just kept the round going in the right direction.”

After shooting a 69 on the first day and ending up in the 70s on days two and three, she saved her best for last with a bogey-free 66, last Sunday.

“I had played well the other days, and I had a couple of putts here and there or a couple of shots that got away from me that I had to play for a bogey or it put me in a little bit tougher situation,” Doughtie recalled. “And on Sunday, I hit the ball well, I hit 17 greens. The only green I missed, I was still putting from the fringe, so I had a lot of opportunities, and I capitalized on some of them.”

Her score tied for 43rd in the event and netted her $6,462, her first LPGA winnings.

“It’s nice to get paid to do what you love and be successful at it,” she said.

Doughtie has been playing in the Kia Classic in Carlsbad, Calif. this past week. After a brief break, she will play April 17-20 in the LPGA Lotte Championship in Oahu. The next week she participates in the North Texas LPGA Shootout, and on May 2-5, she returns to Virginia for the Kingsmill Championship in Williamsburg.