Sports briefs

Baseball

PUJOLS NO. 1: St. Louis outfielder Albert Pujols was voted player of the year by his peers in balloting conducted by the Major League Baseball Players Association. Pujols also won NL outstanding player in the Players Choice Awards, which were announced Wednesday. Texas shortstop Alex Rodriguez was voted AL outstanding player for the third straight season.

Toronto's Roy Halladay was voted the AL's outstanding pitcher, and Los Angeles reliever Eric Gagne was selected the NL's outstanding pitcher.

NL GOLD GLOVERS: Atlanta pitcher Mike Hampton ended Greg Maddux's record run of NL Gold Gloves while Luis Castillo and Derrek Lee of the World Series champion Florida Marlins won for the first time Wednesday.

Scott Rolen, Edgar Renteria, Jim Edmonds and Mike Matheny of the St. Louis Cardinals were among those honored for fielding excellence. Outfielders Andruw Jones of Atlanta and Jose Cruz Jr. of San Francisco also were chosen.

Golf

UTAH CLASSIC DATES: The 2004 Utah Classic will be played Aug. 23-29 at Willow Creek Country Club in Sandy, the PGA Tour announced Thursday night.

"I'm thrilled that we are going to get an August date," Utah Classic director Evan Byers said Thursday. "It's a great time of the year for golf in our community, and school is still out for the summer, providing us a greater opportunity to include our local youth within the tournament."

RANCHES REOPENS: The Ranches Golf Club will re-open for play beginning today. The cost for 18 holes with a cart will be $20 for the remainder of the year. Tee times can be made by calling 789-8100.

ASSISTANT PROS: Salt Lake's Kury Reynolds shot a 2-over-par 74 for a 147 total after two rounds of the TaylorMade-Adidas Golf PGA Assistant Professional Championship at the PGA Golf Club (Dye Course) in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

Bob Gaus of St. Louis, Mo., defending champion Kyle Flinton of Edmond, Okla., and Bob Blean of Glendale, Ariz., are tied for first at 134 in the 45-player tournament, which awards $5,000 to the winner.

TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP: Two great holes put Charles Howell III in a familiar position Friday in the Tour Championship. Howell holed a 10-foot eagle putt on No. 13 and followed with a 10-foot birdie putt to break away from the pack with another 4-under 67, making it the second straight year he has taken a one-stroke lead over Retief Goosen into the weekend of the PGA Tour's final event. Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh were six and seven strokes behind, respectively.