Fail to qualify? Don't go falling into the canal! (4,3,3)

'fail to qualify?' is the definition.
(fail to qualify in golf)

'don't go falling into the canal' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is found in the answer.
'canal' could be 'cut' (cut is a kind of canal) and 'cut' is found within the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).