A receiver carrier synchronization apparatus and method for carrier synchronization with a received signal having a known data pattern preamble uses a "punctured" preamble for making carrier synchronization estimates thereby reducing the number of receivers required. The known data pattern preamble of the received signal is processed with a local reference signal and a differentiated replica of the known data pattern preamble to generate an error signal. The error signal is selectively sampled in the time domain in accordance with a puncture scheme, and the sampled error signal is used to generate the local reference signal in a closed loop. The received signal is processed with the local reference signal and a replica of the known data pattern preamble to generate a synchronization estimate signal.