Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson Join PGA of America's Ryder Cup Task Force

The PGA of America has created an 11-member task force, which includes star players Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, in hopes of finding a way to end the United States' Ryder Cup woes. Europe has won six of the past seven meetings.

Its formation was confirmed on the PGA's official site. The group includes Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk and Rickie Fowler. Former captains Raymond Floyd, Tom Lehman and Davis Love III, as well as three officials from the American golf organization, are also involved.

PGA of America president Ted Bishop shared some insight into the objectives of the task force:

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The Ryder Cup Task Force, co-chaired by Derek Sprague and Pete Bevacqua, is an exciting and comprehensive initiative that will guide the PGA in developing the right strategy and building ongoing processes and infrastructure for future generations of U.S Teams.

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The release included a statement from Woods about his decision to join.

"I think this is a great step by the PGA to accomplish what we all want—to win the Ryder Cup," he said. "The Ryder Cup is very important to every player who has the honor to represent his country. I'm excited to be part of this group."

Woods missed this year's clash due to injury as the United States fell, 16 ½ to 11 ½.

One name notably absent from the list is Paul Azinger. The outspoken former Ryder Cup captain, who guided the U.S. to its only win since the turn of the millennium, is viewed as somebody who could help create a more productive process.

Alas, ESPN passed along comments from him about why he decided against joining the task force, at least for now.

"I'm just not ready to sit down and jump on a task force," Azinger said. "I have a scheduled meeting with the PGA of America in early November and I just think it's too soon for me to commit to jumping on a task force."

Jason Sobel of Golf Channel provides a different view of the entire idea:

Team Europe star Lee Westwood joked about the situation:

Ultimately, the United States needs to change something after getting beat on a regular basis by an extremely talented European side in recent years. It's unclear whether the task force will be able to make any changes that actually improve future results, though.

There will certainly be a wide range of voices in the room, from veterans like Woods and Mickelson—who haven't always seen eye to eye—to a relative newcomer like Fowler. The captains can also bring the opposite point of view to the table.

Finding a winning formula is the goal. Based on the recent results, however, that's going to be quite a tall task.